Now is as good a time as any to remember when the McLaren F1 went to Japan in 1996 and ran the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship. Unsurprisingly, it cleaned up.

The season went to none other than the Lark-branded F1, back before it went to its long-tail configuration. It was run by David Brabham and John Nielsen as well as Ralf Schumacher and Naoki Hattori, the latter pair claiming the most wins for the season, the former pair taking the title. McLaren F1 race cars still looked just like McLaren F1 road cars at that point.

Brabham and Nielsen, Ralf and Naoki made McLaren . That’s impressive, sure, but really it’s just a pleasure to listen to that naturally-aspirated V12 howl through the gears, blipping on the manual shifts, getting pole at Suzuka.

Correction: This article initially stated that Ralf Schumacher and Naoki Hattori won the 1996 season. They only had the most wins. Their teammates David Brabham and John Nielsen won the season overall on points.