21 Feb 1994 McLaren F1

As part of FMM’s maintenance and service programme for its collection, some vehicles require specialist attention and the 1994 McLaren F1 road car’s turn came up in February. The car needed a new clutch and overall thorough inspection and with the factory not proving to be helpful, the museum’s UK consultant Chris Routledge suggested the task be offered to Paul Lanzante, who duly flew out from the UK to tend to the car.

Founded by Paul in the 1970s, Lanzante Limited specializes in service and restoration of classic cars, while also participating in modern and historic racing under the Lanzante Motorsport title. The team won the 1995 Le Mans 24-hour with a McLaren F1 GTR for McLaren Automotive, making the McLaren the first car and Lanzante the first team to win on debut at Le Mans. This success led to Lanzante Ltd becoming a service centre for road and race McLarens. These days, Paul’s son, Dean, leads the company and also races.

Paul has had an illustrious career in motor sport, including running a 1976/7 six-wheeler Tyrrell P34 as raced by Jody Scheckter. “Paul is a real down to earth guy with an encyclopaedic knowledge on McLaren F1 cars. We are looking forward this working relationship with him,” says Wayne. WH