The McLaren Trophy Europe grid heads to Paul Ricard in the south of France this weekend for the season finale where titles will be settled and champions crowned. All four titles and the winner of the Papaya Cup will be decided around the former French Grand Prix venue, although some will be closer fought than others.
Consistency is usually the hallmark of a successful championship campaign and Tim Docker has certainly embraced that philosophy. He has been a mainstay of the Am class podium, taking six second place finishes and two thirds, culminating in a 100% strike rate. The result is a seven-point lead over second place runners Andreas Greiling & Kevin Rohrscheidt. Unfortunately, they will not be competing this weekend due to clashing work commitments meaning that outside bet Danny Henrey will be Tom’s nearest rival.
Danny has completed in the series since the very first race held at Paul Ricard in 2023. Circuit knowledge may well help him out this weekend, while a win at Monza shows he has the speed to compete. The gap would have been closer but two DNFs at Spa-Francorchamps severely hurt his chances, He will need to take victory and hope Tim doesn’t finish to stay in contention. Realistically, all Tim needs to do is stay out of trouble and collect the points in order to raise the champion trophy after race one.
Tim and Danny are also contenders in the Papaya Cup, but it’s the ProAm entries that lead the way in the new-for-2025 category. Aimed at the older racer, the introduction of the category has been a success, allowing all the amateur drivers the chance to compete on a level playing field.
Three wins on the trot at Monza and Spa moved SMC Motorsport’s Klaus Halsig into top spot mid-season after Tim led the way after the opening races at Brands Hatch. Klaus currently has a very comfortable 12-point advantage over Greystone GT’s Ron Trenka. Although a DNF in race two allowed Ron to close the gap after he scored a double podium at the Nürburgring last time out. Klaus should be able to sew it up after race one. Like Tim, he just needs to keep out of trouble and collect the points.
Anything can happen in motorsport though, it only takes one spin, and everything can be turned on its head. The only thing we can be sure of is by the end of the weekend we will have crowned two more worthy champions.