Want to see the new McLaren GT3 race car racing in the United States? You're in luck. K-Pax Racing and Flying Lizard Motorsports announced this week that they will campaign the two McLaren 650S GT3 race cars in 2015 in the Pirelli World Challenge.
While the teams haven't announced what liveries they will be running next year, one look at McLaren's stock photos of the 650S race car proves that it would be one bad looking machine even if they opted for a pink glitter wrap with precious unicorns and bunny rabbits all over it*.
I can't wait to see this on track. Luckily for those of us around Austin, it makes its debut at the Pirelli World Challenge season opener at Circuit of the Americas on March 6-8, 2015.
K-Pax and Flying Lizard are somewhat of a power couple in motorsports. K-Pax team owner Jim Haughey explained the partnership to:
Teaming up with Flying Lizard was a natural fit for us. Combined, K-Pax and Flying Lizard have six series championships and dozens of wins. Our race-proven McLarens and Flying Lizard's world-class race-team management will catapult us into contention for another championship.
K-Pax has been the only team racing a McLaren sports car in the United States, starting with last year's fantastic 12C, which also ran in World Challenge. Flying Lizard is an endurance racing powerhouse, having three class titles and twenty-five wins to their name in a decade of existence.
Because these are updated versions of the 12C GT3s that K-Pax raced in 2014, Flying Lizard has taken delivery of K-Pax's cars to tinker around with while both teams wait for the 650Ses to arrive.
This makes yet another ex-American Le Mans series team leaving the Tudor United SportsCar Championship, as Flying Lizard will switch from a full-time TUSC campaign to teaming up with K-Pax in PWC next year. Flying Lizard competed in ALMS since 2004 until its merger with Grand-Am to create TUSC, and then they competed in the first year of the TUSC.
Flying Lizard team manager Eric Ingraham explains the switch to :
Due to our full season commitment of Pirelli World Challenge, a full season in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is no longer logistically possible.
That said, we're proud of what we've accomplished in the American Le Mans Series over the past decade and during the 2014 season in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.
The 2015 season will be a new challenge, and a new era for Flying Lizard Motorsports, and we're thrilled to be racing under the K-PAX Racing banner.
While Flying Lizard will be missed in United SportsCar, I can't be too sad when they're bringing more McLarens on the track elsewhere.
*This is my vote. This is always my vote.