At the beginning of February, the ADAC announced McLaren as the seventh manufacturer for 2024, but refused to provide any details about the British manufacturer’s first proper programme in the series.
Now it has been revealed that Dorr Group, the owner of McLaren’s largest dealer network in Europe, will campaign two 720S GT3 Evos in the category for Clemens Schmid and Ben Dorr.
Both cars from Dorr will run predominantly in McLaren’s papaya orange livery, as revealed during a series of secret presentations at the organisation’s showrooms in Frankfurt and Munich last weekend.
The Woking-based marque was briefly represented in the series at the start of its GT3 era in 2021, when JP Motorsport entered a single 720S in three rounds for ex-Formula 1 driver Christian Klien, but Dorr’s programme marks the first time a McLaren team has gained an entry for the full season.
Project 1 was previously seen as an option for McLaren’s foray into the DTM, but the long-time German squad announced its bankruptcy last month, leaving Dorr as the only team in the running.
However, several mechanics that previously worked on Project 1’s GTE Am programme with the Porsche 911 RS-19 in the World Endurance Championship will be a part of Dorr’s DTM entry. In addition, Project 1 team boss Axel Funke will join the management structure of the Frankfurt-based organisation.
The recruitment spree is necessary for Dorr, which only expanded to GT3 racing last year after taking the Aston Martin Vantage to the Nurburgring-Nordschleife.
The team’s DTM programme is designed to run for a minimum of three years, which should keep it in the series until the end of the 2026 season.
“Thanks to our partners, customers and friends, this has become a really good package with which we can implement the season well,” said team owner Rainer Dörr.
"The sponsors have given us their loyalty for three years because we know that the first year will be a learning year. We want to be at the front, but we are realistic enough that we won't be able to do that in the first year.”
As for the driver line-up, the Frankfurt-based organisation has combined the experience of Schmid with the youth of family heir Ben Dorr.
Schmid joins the squad after two seasons with Grasser Lamborghini, while Ben Dorr, son of team owner Rainer, has been given a seat following a pair of tests in Portugal.
“He was invited by McLaren to test in Estoril and Portimao and he was really convincing,” Rainer Dorr told Motorsport.com's sister title Motorsport-Total.com. "That was in December and January. That influenced the decision.
“Sure, he's my son and he's very young, but McLaren said he had what it took. That's why we decided that we trusted him to do it.”
Former F1 and DTM driver Timo Glock also held a dialogue with Dorr about making a surprise comeback to the German series, but those talks came to nought after he failed to find a sponsor to fund his entry.
“Clemens was actually already with us beforehand,” Dorr said. "Timo came a little late.
“We only had a short conversation with Timo. We then briefly considered whether we could swap Ben for Timo and let Ben drive somewhere else for another year."
Following the news of Dorr’s entry with McLaren, 20 cars are now confirmed for the 2024 DTM season, which will get under way at Oschersleben on 27-28 April.
