McLaren Trophy Europe

The championship launched in 2023. McLaren Automotive established it as a customer racing series for both amateur and professional drivers, racing in identical McLaren cars.^[1] The series is an evolution of McLaren's GT racing programs and is designed as a stepping stone for Bronze and Silver-rated drivers transitioning from GT4 to GT3 racing.^[2] The championship uses a single-make format, meaning all competitors race in identical machinery on circuits throughout Europe.^[1] This emphasises driver skill over car performance.^[2]

The series has seen a progression in its featured cars.^[3] Initially, the series ran with the McLaren 570S Trophy and the new Artura Trophy.^[4] In 2024, the championship solidified its presence on the SRO Motorsports Group package.^[3] SMC Motorsport emerged as a dominant force, with Gonzalo de Andres being crowned as Artura Trophy champion for the second consecutive season.^[5] For the 2025 season, the enhanced Artura Trophy Evo was introduced, offering increased performance through improved aerodynamics, wider tyres, and a "Push-to-Pass" system boosting power from 585PS to 620PS when activated.^[4] Additionally, a new Pro category for Silver-rated drivers was established to support young talent through the McLaren Trophy Academy.^[6] Jayden Kelly and Michael O'Brien secured the initial championship for Pro drivers.^[5] The 2026 season is set to see continued growth with new entrants like Target Racing, aiming for record grid sizes in its fourth year.^[7]

The championship is a single-make championship featuring identical McLaren Artura Trophy Evo cars, designed to showcase pure driving talent.^[1] The race weekend structure sees each event typically following a double-header format, providing nearly five hours of track time.^[1] Practice consists of two 60-minute sessions on the opening day.^[1] Each race day features a 15-minute pre-qualifying session followed by a 15-minute qualifying sesson.^[1] The races consist of two 50-minute races per weekend, starting with a rolling start.^[6] During the races there are mandatory pit stops for driver changes which occur within a designated window (typically the 20th–30th minute for Pro pairings).^[8]

Teams can choose to compete with a driver pairing or as a solo entry in three main categories.^[1] The first of which is Pro, which acts as a class for Silver-rated young professional or semi-pro driver pairings.^[9] Pro-Am features a pairing of a professional (Gold/Silver/Platinum) and an amateur (Bronze) driver.^[6] The Bronze driver must qualify the car and start the races.^[6] Cars in the Am class are exclusively for Bronze-rated amateur drivers, who can also compete for the Papaya Cup if they have limited racing experience.^[2]

The scoring systems allocates points to the top 10 finishers (1st: 15 pts, 2nd: 12, 3rd: 10, down to 10th: 1).^[3] Push-to-Pass was introduced for 2025, featured in the new Artura Trophy Evo car, and provides 300 seconds of additional power (up to 620PS) per session.^[3] The championship primarily supports the GT World Challenge Europe and features prominently at the 24 Hours of Spa.^[8]

• Bold denotes a circuit will be used in the 2026 season.

Circuit	Location	Country	Last length used	Turns	Season(s)	Races held
Algarve International Circuit	Portimão	Portugal	4.653 km (2.891 mi)	15	2026	1
Brands Hatch	Kent	United Kingdom	3.916 km (2.433 mi)	9	2025	1
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya	Montmeló	Spain	4.657 km (2.894 mi)	14	2023–2024, 2026	3
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Stavelot	Belgium	7.004 km (4.352 mi)	19	2023–2026	4
Circuit Paul Ricard	Le Castellet	France	5.770 km (3.585 mi)	13	2023, 2025	2
Hockenheimring	Hockenheim	Germany	4.574 km (2.842 mi)	17	2023	1
Misano World Circuit	Misano Adriatico	Italy	4.226 km (2.626 mi)	16	2023–2024, 2026	3
Monza Circuit	Monza	Italy	5.793 km (3.600 mi)	11	2024–2026	3
Nürburgring	Nürburg	Germany	5.148 km (3.199 mi)	15	2024–2025	2