Showing control of the BPR series early in 1996, McLaren now saw that their car was lacking against the likes of the new Porsche 911 GT1 in the all new FIA GT Championship. At the same time, McLaren was aware of the arrival of the new Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, Lotus Elise GT1, and Panoz Esperante GTR-1, all purpose-built racing cars that bore little relation to road legal cars like the McLaren F1. The new F1 GTR "Long Tail" cars were therefore developed, and with increased assistance from BMW Motorsport, McLaren continued into the 1997 season. Major teams included the BMW Motorsport-backed Schnitzer Motorsport, Team Davidoff, and Parabolica Motorsports. Privateers continued to campaign older 1995-spec and 1996-spec cars.