A racing version was developed at McLaren Cars 'Genesis' headquarters in Woking, Surrey and designated the F1-GTR. It was designed to run under the prevailing production GT regulations of the BPR Global Endurance series. In fact, because of restrictions on the size of the air intake, the F1-GTR was actually slower in a straight line than the F1 roadcar.

The GTR racer rocked the world of sports car racing. It was highly succesful in the BPR series and, in 1995, won the Le Mans 24 Hours at its first attempt.