APRIL 10, 1995

McLaren will move

Hot on the heels of Williams and Benetton moving to larger factories, McLaren is planning a similar expansion. The team has been planning its move for much longer than the opposition, and a few years ago it bought the Lydden Hill circuit near Dover, England. Ambitious plans to house all the TAG/McLaren companies at the site have fallen through because McLaren staff do not want to move too far from the current factory.

Since then McLaren has been searching for a suitable site; and we hear that this might be established in conjunction with the Penske Indycar team, which is currently outgrowing its facilities in Poole, Dorset. McLaren and Penske both have long-term agreements with Mercedes-Benz and Marlboro; and it would make a great deal of sense for the two to use the same windtunnel, testing rigs and autoclaves. Ron Dennis has had meetings with Roger Penske in the last few months and has admitted that he has been discussing "synergy."

McLaren, incidentally, has put its World Land Speed Record attempt on hold until another British project being run by current record holder Richard Noble has been completed. The decision was taken because McLaren felt that there was nothing to be gained in direct competition with Noble.