The McLaren Motorsport Factory Driver roster for 2026 will expand to include 16 drivers across two categories
Joseph Loake steps up to full McLaren Factory Driver status joining Marvin Kirchhöfer, Dean MacDonald, Benjamin Goethe, Arthur Rougier and Simon Gachet
Junior Pro and Graduate categories merged and now includes ten drivers
McLaren Trophy Academy scope expanded to form integral part of Factory Driver programme
After a successful 2025 season in which McLaren Motorsport claimed its first FIA World Endurance Championship race win, returned to the top step of the GT World Challenge Europe podium, and secured GT4 titles in both Britain and Australia, 2026 is set to be an even bigger year as McLaren Motorsport confirms its expanded roster of 16 Factory Drivers — a distinguished and international lineup representing the brand’s competitive racing DNA across leading global GT series.
As an integral element of McLaren Motorsport’s GT racing proposition, the Factory Drivers form part of McLaren’s customer racing programmes globally, while feeding into the development programmes of the GT3, GT4 and Trophy car range.
German racer Marvin Kirchhöfer once again heads the Factory Driver line up, with Briton Dean MacDonald, Benjamin Goethe, Arthur Rougier and Simon Gachet returning. All had strong campaigns last year in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance and Sprint Cup series.
Joseph Loake graduates from the previous Junior Pro category to become a fully-fledged Factory Driver after impressing on his GT debut last year. The 2023 Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award winner previously raced single seaters in the FIA Formula 3 Championship.
The programme has now been streamlined, with the previous Junior Pro and Graduate categories merging to form the McLaren GT3 Junior Driver category. Benefitting from the tutelage of former McLaren Factory Driver, and now McLaren Motorsport Sporting Director, Rob Bell, ten drivers will become GT3 Junior Drivers. DTM driver Ben Dörr returns, as does Josh Rattican, who extends his stay on the programme into a fourth year. 2023 McLaren Trophy Europe champion Tommy Pintos also remains and is joined by 2025 champion Jayden Kelly, who moved into GT3 racing late last year.
Six new members include Garage 59 driver, and overall GT World Challenge Endurance Cup race winner in Barcelona, 27-year-old Monégasque-Italian Louis Prette. He is joined by Garage 59 teammate and recently announced FIA World Endurance Championship driver Tom Fleming. In 2025, the Essex-born Fleming dovetailed his GT World Challenge campaign with a European Le Mans Series programme.
Also in the McLaren factory GT fold for 2026 are James Kell, Mikey Porter, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Zac Meakin. Kell, who has previously raced a 570 GT4 and GT3 EVO McLarens in British GT undertook a combined GT Open and GT World Challenge programme last season. Similarly, Porter raced in both championships for stalwart McLaren Customer Racing team Optimum Motorsport. 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Silver Cup champion Jean Baptiste joins the programme after two years of racing prototypes in the European Le Mans Series Zac Meakin was the 2024 British GT GT4 champion and a 2025 McLaren Trophy Europe race winner.
With both Tommy Pintos and Jayden Kelly on the programme, there is now a very clear progression from the McLaren Trophy one-make championships to becoming full Factory Drivers. Introduced in 2025, the McLaren Trophy Academy will be enhanced this year to provide greater experience to the professional drivers competing in the McLaren Trophy series, as well as drivers of an eligible age. The full line-up of McLaren Trophy Academy drivers will be announced in June.
“I am really pleased that we have a strong group of drivers making up the Factory Driver programme. Marvin, Dean, Benji, Simon, Arthur and Joseph are all top GT drivers, and it is a credit to our factory roster that we have them onboard. The eight GT3 Junior Driver members are all promising talents coming from McLaren Trophies and GT4 and we will be keeping a close eye on their progress. The renewed McLaren Trophy Academy programme dedicated to the best talent drivers competing in our one make series has the target to be a reference GT drivers development program at global level , 2026 is shaping up to be a very exciting season.”Giorgio Sanna, Head of Motorsport, McLaren Automotive
“Once again, we have been able to move the McLaren Motorsport Factory Driver programme up a gear. With an expanded line-up and a clear development focus the future is looks very bright. With Marvin, Benji and Tom racing in WEC this year we can now support a straight-line progression from McLaren Trophy to the peak of GT racing in the World Endurance Championship.”Rob Bell, Sporting Director, McLaren Automotive
Post navigation
Automobile Magazine-UK
