McLaren Trophy expands to America with new championship in 2025

7 Mar 2024

• New McLaren Trophy America championship to debut in 2025
• Will feature bespoke Artura Trophy race car prepared by independent race teams
• McLaren 570S Trophy cars also eligible to race in new championship
• Inclusive programme provides competitive racing for amateur GT drivers and aspiring professional drivers.

McLaren Motorsport today announces McLaren Trophy America, the second McLaren Trophy championship to be confirmed, further underlining the brand’s rich racing heritage alongside its global GT racing programmes that include the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA.

McLaren Trophy America will be run to the same principles as McLaren Trophy Europe and is designed to challenge and develop Pro-Am driver pairings, with the emphasis on the Bronze driver. The expansion follows a successful debut season for McLaren Trophy in 2023, in which 17 cars contested the championship across two classes.

Like its European cousin, McLaren Trophy America will showcase the Artura Trophy race car. Bespoke to the championship, the Artura Trophy shares much with the highly acclaimed McLaren Artura road car, including the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) which provides a rigid and lightweight chassis for supreme race track performance and remarkable impact resistance.

Powered by the same twin turbo V6 engine as the road car and generating 585PS, the Artura Trophy is sensationally fast in a straight line. The compact and wide 120-degree angle engine sits low in the chassis making it equally spectacular in its cornering abilities, aided by a bespoke aerodynamic package that includes a high-downforce rear wing. In addition to offering high levels of driver engagement, lap times of the Artura Trophy compare favourably with GT3 cars.

The Artura Trophy has been designed to be accessible to drivers of all abilities and easily serviceable, with an adjustable Bosch engine management system, inboard radiators and a rear deck that can be lifted away without needing to remove the rear wing.

Cars will be run by independent teams with existing 570S Trophy cars are also eligible for the series. These cars will compete for class wins and championships and just like the Artura Trophy, will be fully supported by McLaren Customer Racing with replacement parts and technical backup available at every round.

Both the Artura Trophy and 570S Trophy cars will benefit from high-performance tyres supplied by tyre partner Pirelli, using its extensive experience in both Formula 1 and GT racing.

McLaren Trophy America competitors will also benefit from the relaxed and sociable paddock environment that is a popular feature of the championship in Europe. Central to this is the Formula 1-inspired McLaren race centre where drivers can entertain friends, family, sponsors and team managers, host meetings or simply relax.

The inaugural season will consist of 10 races across 5 race weekends. Over four hours of track time at each event includes two races of 50 minutes in duration, including mandatory pit stops for driver changes. Full details of the 2025 race calendar will be released later this year.

“Following the successful debut of McLaren Trophy Europe in 2023, we are delighted to confirm that the championship is being expanded with the new McLaren Trophy America championship in 2025. This region represents McLaren Automotive’s biggest market and has a diverse and vibrant motorsport culture, including a strong GT racing contingent that we are proud to be part of. We’re looking forward to welcoming members of the extended McLaren family as well as new competitors from the American continents and we hope to one day see some of them compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA championships with McLaren GT racing products.

Mick McDonagh, Director of MSO and Motorsport, McLaren Automotive

Further information about McLaren Trophy, including car specifications and for future announcements about McLaren Trophy America, please visit https://cars.mclaren.com/us-en/customer-racing/mclaren-trophy or get in touch by emailing [email protected]

Ends

Notes to editors:
A selection of high resolution images accompanying this release is available to download from the McLaren Automotive media site – cars.mclaren.press

About McLaren Trophy:
Launched in July 2022, the McLaren Trophy is a pro-am championship designed to challenge ambitious GT drivers by placing the emphasis on the amateur (Bronze) driver. The McLaren Trophy will feature two classes in its inaugural season:

The Artura Trophy is based on the McLaren Artura GT4 race car and is powered by the same V6 twin-turbo engine but tuned to provide 585PS. It also has a high downforce package with a bigger rear wing and additional front-end aerodynamics and is capable of lap times close to GT3 race cars. Featuring all-new McLaren Carbon Fibre Lightweight Architecture (MCLA), which provides a rigid carbon fibre chassis derived from the road car, Artura Trophy cars can be converted to GT4 specification, allowing teams and drivers to compete in both categories with the same chassis.

The 570S Trophy is based around the McLaren 570S GT4 race car and is tuned to develop around 540PS and run in a higher downforce configuration.

For its inaugural 2023 season, McLaren Trophy, Europe will support the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS with 10 rounds spread over five events taking place in France, Belgium, Germany and Spain, including the Blue-Riband Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa.

McLaren Trophy, Europe provisional 2024 calendar

The McLaren Trophy is presented in partnership with leading brands Pirelli, Rafa Racing Club and Richard Mille.

About McLaren Automotive:
McLaren Automotive is a creator of luxury, high-performance supercars.

Every vehicle is hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, England.

Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group.

The company’s product portfolio of GT, supercar, Motorsport and Ultimate models are retailed through over 100 retailers in over 40 markets around the world.

McLaren is a pioneer that continuously pushes the boundaries. In 1981, it introduced lightweight and strong carbon fibre chassis into Formula 1 with the McLaren MP4/1.

Then in 1993 it designed and built the McLaren F1 road car – the company has not built a car without a carbon fibre chassis since. As part of the Ultimate Series, McLaren was the first to deliver a hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1™. In 2016, it announced a new hybrid hyper-GT and confirmed in 2018 that the next Ultimate car would be the Speedtail.

2019 saw McLaren launch the 600LT Spider, the new GT and the track-only McLaren Senna GTR. It also unveiled the 620R and McLaren Elva before launching the 765LT the following year.

In 2021, the company unveiled its all-new high-performance hybrid supercar, the McLaren Artura.

The Artura is the first McLaren to benefit from the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA). The MCLA is designed, developed and manufactured at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region of England using world-first processes and will spearhead the brand’s electrified future.

2022 saw McLaren announce the Solus GT, a single-seat, closed-cockpit track car which brought to life a futuristic concept that was originally created for virtual gaming.

In 2023, McLaren unveiled its lightest and most powerful series-production supercar, the 750S.

McLaren Automotive also chooses to partner with like-minded, world-leading companies and organisations who push the boundaries in their respective fields. These include Ashurst, Bowers & Wilkins, Gulf, Monroe, Pirelli, Plan International, Richard Mille and Tumi.

About McLaren Group:
The McLaren Group is a global leader in luxury automotive and elite motorsports with a focus on its Automotive supercar and Racing businesses.

Founded in 1963 by racer, engineer and entrepreneur Bruce McLaren, the Group is formed of McLaren Automotive, which hand-builds lightweight supercars; and a majority stake in McLaren Racing which competes in the Formula 1 World Championship and INDYCAR in the US.

The Group is globally headquartered at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England.

With a reputation for innovation and technological excellence, McLaren is one of the UK’s largest independent companies.

Further information:
Piers Scott
PR & Communications Director
+44 (0) 7387 548 837
[email protected]

Paul Chadderton
Global Head of PR
+44 (0) 7990 776 749
[email protected]

Kevin Ritson
Press Officer
+44 (0) 7979 546018
[email protected]

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