VIN: the Giroix Racing Team McLaren F1 GTR chassis 11R
History of chassis 11R
One of nine 1996-spec. GTRs built, chassis 11R was delivered new to the Giroix Racing Team to replace 07R (their car from 1995).
After the team lost sponsors Jacadi and Elf when Olivier Grouillard defected to the Harrods-backed Mach One Racing team in late 1995, new title backing was secured from the Franck Muller Watch company for 1996.
During the course of that season, 11R appeared in several different colour schemes. At Paul Ricard, Monza and Jarama it was plain white before switching to black over orange at Silverstone, Le Mans, Suzuka and Zhuhai.
It then changed again to white over black for the two end-of-season Temporada exhibition races at Curitiba and Brasilia. At these South American events, the Frank Muller Watch company was replaced with backing from Hollywood cigarettes.
The team’s best results of the year were second place finishes at Monza, Curitiba and Brasilia.
For 1997, the Giroix Racing Team switched to a Lotus Elise GT1.
Chassis 11R was discretely acquired by Mercedes-Benz who used it to test key components for their new GT1 challenger; the CLK GTR.
Fitted with prototype bodywork and Mercedes’ new six-litre V12 engine, 11R was spotted in the second week of March during a four-day test at Jarama.
The finished Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR was ready in the last week of March, at which point 11R was returned to its original configuration and put up for sale.
Notable History
Giroix Racing Team
White Franck Muller Watch livery
03/03/1996 BPR Paul Ricard 4 Hours (J.D. Deletraz / F. Giroix / D. Cottaz) 15th oa, 7th GT1 class (#9)
24/03/1996 BPR Monza 4 Hours (J.D. Deletraz / F. Giroix / D. Cottaz) 2nd oa, 2nd GT1 class (#9)
14/04/1996 BPR Jarama 4 Hours (J.D. Deletraz / F. Giroix / D. Cottaz) 4th oa, 4th GT1 class (#9)
Black & orange Franck Muller Watch livery
12/05/1996 BPR Silverstone 4 Hours (J.D. Deletraz / F. Giroix / D. Cottaz) DNF (#9)
Orange & black Franck Muller Watch livery
16/06/1996 IND Le Mans 24 Hours (J.D. Deletraz / F. Giroix / M. Sandro Sala) DNF (#53)
25/08/1996 BPR Suzuka 1000km (J.D. Deletraz / F. Giroix / R. Prutirat) 5th oa, 5th GT1 class (#9)
03/11/1996 BPR Zhuhai 4 Hours (J.D. Deletraz / F. Giroix / R. Prutirat) 7th oa, 7th GT1 class (#9)
White & black Hollywood livery
08/12/1996 TEM Curitiba 2 Hours (M. Sandro Sala / F. Giroix) 2nd oa (#9)
15/12/1996 TEM Brasilia 2 Hours (M. Sandro Sala / F. Giroix) 2nd oa (#9)
Sold to Mercedes-Benz
Modified as test hack for CLK GTR programme
White livery
03/1997 Jarama tests
Returned to F1 GTR configuration and sold off
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: Automobile Club de l’Ouest - https://www.lemans.org/en
