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NSR 0251 McLaren 720S GT3 #3 Official Test Car. RRP £87.95. Available 'shortly'
NSR 0252 McLaren 720S GT3 #5 Gulf 12 Hours 2018, Yas Marina - Ben Barnicoat, Alvaro Parente & Shane van Gisbergen. RRP £87.95. Available 'shortly'

Expected very shortly are the first two liveries on the 720S GT3. The first is the official McLaren test car in Papaya Spark orange. The second is from the car's competitive debut in the Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina, which took place over the weekend of 13-15 December 2018...

       

The factory-entered 720S was driven by Ben Barnicoat, Alvaro Parente and Shane van Gisbergen over the two six-hour segments of the race. Qualifying second in a strong GT3 field, Barnicoat took the 720S GT3 into the lead after just an hour of its racing career. The orange car remained in the hunt for the whole six hours, despite several incidents and two safety car periods. The team reached the mid-point of the race in second overall, and ready to attack from the start of the second race...

       

The second part of the race showed the potential of the new McLaren 720S GT3. Within two laps, van Gisbergen had taken the lead on the back straight - and by the end of the tenth hour, the car had lapped the entire field...

       

Unfortunately, the dream of a win on the car's global race debut was over moments later when an issue with the right front suspension forced van Gisbergen into the pits for repairs. Rapid work from the team saw the car return to action after just 13 minutes and with Ben Barnicoat back behind the wheel, set about chasing down the leaders. In the closing 90 minutes, the gap was reduced and the #5 720S GT3 crossed the line fifth in the GT3 Pro class and eighth overall, completing 309 laps of the Yas Marina circuit...



Since then, McLaren has handed the 720S over to various customer teams around the world, notching up numerous wins - including the most recent running of the Gulf 12 Hours. But the choice of these two cars - the test/presentation livery and the 2018 Yas Marina car - are certainly good ones for NSR to start with.