More McLaren MP4-12C GT3 Drivers Announced

McLaren GT has added three drivers to its stable of available drivers for customer teams. Rob Bell, Alexander Sims and Alvaro Parente will be available to teams who have purchased a MP4-12C GT3 car who need an extra driver. 

Bell drove the McLaren GT3 at Spa last year when the MP4-12C was not yet available to customer teams. He won the European Le Mans Series in 2008 and 2009 and has raced in the American Le Mans Series and Grand-Am series. 

"“I’m very excited to be joining McLaren GT and the opportunity to drive the new 12C GT3 in its first full season of racing.  When I was invited to drive the car last year at Spa, I welcomed the chance to sample this new British racer.  It delivered the speed and showed the performance potential necessary to win in the highly competitive environment of sportscar racing. I’m looking forward to contributing to further development of the car with a customer team when we take to the track at the start of this season,” said Bell. 

Sim won McLaren's young driver award in 2008. He finished 2nd in the Formula Renault UK championship. He finished fourth in the F3 Euro Series in 2009 and sixth in the GP3 Series in 2011. 

"I am delighted McLaren continue to support young drivers in their careers and I’m proud to join the likes of Rob and Alvaro on the driver program for 2012,” said Sim. 

Parente was a development driver for the MP4-12C GT3 car and raced in the GP2 series from 2008-2011.

McLaren will deliver 25 MP4-12C GT3 cars to teams in Europe this year. It has not yet announced all of the teams that will receive the cars.