Garage 59 Confirms Pair of McLaren Lineups

Garage 59 has announced its driver lineups for a two-car McLaren program in the Asian Le Mans Series next month.

The British squad has retained one of its Gulf 12 Hours crews for the ACO-run championship, which takes place across two double-header weekends at Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina Circuit.

Marvin Kirchhoefer, Benjamin Goethe and Alexander West will share the No. 88 McLaren 720S GT3 after finishing sixth overall in the Gulf race at Yas Marina a few weeks ago.

Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Silver Cup champion Goethe made his debut with Garage 59 in that event, teaming up with McLaren Automotive factory driver Kirchhoefer and team co-owner West.

The sister No. 59 McLaren for Asian LMS will be driven by Rob Bell, Nick Halstead and Louis Prette.

Bell is a factory driver for McLaren, while Halstead is familiar with the McLaren having contested last year’s Intelligent Money British GT Championship with Fox Motorsport.

Prette has mostly driven Ferrari machinery and linked up with AF Corse for one of its GTE-Am entries into last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“I’m thrilled to join Garage 59 and McLaren for this year’s Asian Le Mans campaign,” said the Monegasque driver.

“It’s the perfect platform for me to get to know the team and the car in a short period of time as there is everything to learn for me. After scoring three podiums in this championship last year, I’m aiming for more this year with Garage 59.”

Garage 59 is set for its second year running McLaren 720S GT3s after returning to the Woking-based manufacturer following a three-season stint with Aston Martin.

It also entered the 2022 Asian LMS season with a pair of McLarens, including one driven by recently-appointed Williams Formula 1 team principal James Vowles.