In 2023, McLaren Motorsport hosted its inaugural Trophy Europe season, a championship featuring 17 cars and 33 drivers competing in 10 races throughout the old continent. The British carmaker has announced its plans to expand to the U.S., with the McLaren Trophy America Championship set to take place next year. This announcement comes as the brand’s motorsport division gears up to host its second season, which will kick off on May 17th in Italy’s Misano World Circuit.
Like its European counterpart, McLaren Trophy America is a Pro-Am series in which an amateur driver is paired with a pro racer. However, the carmaker has emphasized focusing on the former and developing their skills on the track. The Trophy championship’s overall goal is to be accessible to drivers of various skill levels while offering direct support for easy servicing the cars scheduled to compete.
The first of the two cars eligible to compete is the McLaren Artura Trophy. Based on the Artura GT4, the Trophy benefits from higher downforce elements like a larger rear wing, allowing it to achieve lap times similar to those of a GT3 car. It also carries major components from the road car, like its 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 minus its hybrid system. This results in a 577 horsepower output. Given its GT4 origins, the Trophy is built to be easily converted to meet GT4 specifications should owners want to compete in both series.
The second car eligible to race is the 570S Trophy, which, like its successor, is developed around the GT4 race car, just with a higher downforce package. However, it produces 533 horsepower from a twin-turbocharged 3.8-liter V8 sourced from its road-going counterpart. McLaren Customer Racing will support it and the Artura Trophy with replacement parts and available technical help at each round.
The inaugural McLaren America Trophy comprises ten races spread over five weekends. Each round will consist of two 50-minute races, one run on Saturday and the other on Sunday, including mandatory pit stops for diver changes. As of writing, McLaren has yet to unveil its racing calendar or where the races will occur.
The format for each racing weekend is as follows. Friday consists of two 60-minute free practice sessions. Saturday consists of a 15-minute qualifying session followed by the first 50-minute race. Sunday mirrors the day prior and hosts the second race.
Alongside the factory parts and technical support, McLaren plans to offer a race center at each round where drivers can host guests or take breaks between events over the race weekend. Expect the British carmaker to unveil further details about its upcoming championship later this year.
