The Gulf Racing team will champion the McLaren MP4-12C in its first full year of competition, after being selected to run two of the cars in the 2012 GT3 championship. The squad currently competes in the GTE-Am class of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.
"One only has to look at the heritage of the McLaren MP4-12C to see what a superb racing car it promises to be," team co-owner and driver Mike Wainwright explained. "We are convinced this is the right path for us to take to allow us to fully enjoy our racing – which, don't forget, we do for leisure and pleasure and not as a profession.
"McLaren GT assures its teams of a racecar that will be high quality, reliable and drivable, and that sounded perfect for us."
Roald Goethe, like Wainwright a driver and co-owner of the team, added: "We haven't yet finalized our plans for 2012 but, looking at what's available in GT3, such as the FIA GT3 Championship and the Blancpain Endurance Series, as well as stand-alone events such as the Dubai 24 Hours, there is plenty of choice for a team such as ours."
It has not been confirmed whether the McLaren will run in the famous blue and orange Gulf livery. The team will continue to run its Aston Martin Vantage for the remainder of the 2011 season, but said it was obvious choice to switch to McLaren and GT3 next year.
McLaren says that at least 10 teams have already committed to purchasing the 12C for next year, including ASM Team and Apex Motorsport.