Strong demand for inaugural McLaren Trophy with 17 cars and 33 drivers entered and season prologue confirmed

• No fewer than 17 cars and 33 drivers entered to compete in inaugural McLaren Trophy season
• Season prologue confirmed for Paul Ricard circuit on May 22
• Inaugural round takes place at Paul Ricard on June 2-4, supporting Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe

Launched in July last year, the McLaren Trophy is a racing championship designed to put the emphasis on ambitious amateur (Bronze) drivers and to nurture pro-am partnerships. It will showcase the new Artura Trophy, a 585PS thoroughbred racecar. Capable of lap times close to GT3 cars, it is based on the Artura GT4 and by making straightforward ECU and aerodynamic adjustments, drivers can also enjoy the versatility of competing in GT4 competition with the same car. A separate 570S category will allow owners of the previous 570S Trophy cars to compete on the same grid for class victories and championships.

Within weeks of the initial announcement, several teams committed to entering cars in the inaugural season, all of which are established GT competition outfits including some new to the marque. Demand has been especially high for the new Artura Trophy car, with the 2023 season initial quota of 10 cars fully allocated earlier this year.

The McLaren Trophy is designed to put the amateur driver first and while professional drivers will be part of all driver pairings in the top Artura Trophy class, the Bronze-rated drivers will compete for the overall championship. The entry includes several established names from GT racing, who will be challenging for race victories alongside their team-mates.

McLaren Trophy, Europe races will support Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS events, including the Blue-Riband Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa. A season prologue has also been confirmed to take place at the Paul Ricard circuit in France on May 22. This will give teams and drivers a chance to test and acclimatise ahead of the inaugural race, which will also take place at the French Grand Prix venue.

May 22 6/2/2004 June 29–July 1  July 28–30  September 1–3 September 29 – October 1

Season Prologue Rounds 1 & 2    Rounds 3 & 4   Rounds 5 & 6   Rounds 7 & 8  Rounds 9 & 10

Paul Ricard  Paul Ricard   Spa-Francorchamps Nürburgring Hockenheim    Barcelona

France France Belgium Germany Germany Spain

'I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all the teams and drivers to the inaugural McLaren Trophy championship, the response to the new series has been exceptional and we're also delighted that the reception to the new Artura race car has also been equally strong. The versatility of this car has helped to drive sales and we hope to see many drivers compete with it in both Artura Trophy and Artura GT4 configurations this year. The exceptional demand for this car can also be attributed to the phenomenal record of the 570S GT4 and the continuing success of the 720S GT3, now updated to EVO specification.'

Ian Morgan, Director of Motorsport, McLaren Automotive

McLaren Trophy, Europe provisional entry list 2023

No.	Driver 1	Driver 2	Team	Car
7	Gonzalo De Andres	Tomas Pintos	SMC Motorsport	Artura Trophy
12	Jay Palmer	Joe Osborne	Optimum Motorsport	Artura Trophy
13	Mohammed Al-Khalifa	TBC	Inari Motorsport	Artura Trophy
23	Iain Campbell	Oli Webb	Greystone GT	Artura Trophy
27	Thomas Surgent	Michael O'Brien	Race Lab	Artura Trophy
42	Albert Jochems	Charles Zwolsman	Equipe Verschuur	Artura Trophy
77	Mark Hopton	Euan Hankey	Greystone GT	Artura Trophy
80	Ron Trenka	Jon Lancaster	Greystone GT	Artura Trophy
93	David Waddington	Adam Wilcox	Inari Motorsport	Artura Trophy
TBC	TBC	TBC	SMC Motorsport	Artura Trophy
11	David Foster	Brad Ellis	One Motorsport	570S Trophy
15	Danny Henrey*		7TSix	570S Trophy
24	Rafael Martinez	Jem Hepworth	Greystone GT	570S Trophy
53	Neil Langberg	Ross Kaiser	One Motorsport	570S Trophy
68	Aaron Morgan	Bobby Trundley	Team BRIT	570S Trophy
71	Matt LeBreton	TBC	DMS Automotive	570S Trophy
74	Shaun Pendrigh	Stuart White	Greystone GT	570S Trophy

*Solo entrant

Photo credit: McLaren
posted on conceptcarz.com

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