McLaren squad Garage 59 has signalled its intention to fight for titles on multiple fronts this season by naming strong line-ups for its Pro and Gold Cup entries.
All six drivers were part of the team last year, which saw Garage 59 enjoy its strongest results in a decade. The #59 McLaren will once again compete in the Pro class with Marvin Kirchhöfer and Dean Macdonald taking on the full 10-round schedule, while Joseph Loake will join them for the Endurance races.
The continuing Kirchhöfer was arguably the standout driver of the 2025 season, leading Garage 59 to a pair of Sprint wins and taking a sensational pole position for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Loake also remains in place from 2025, which marked his first year in GT racing after graduating from single-seaters. The highly regarded youngster has recently been added to the McLaren factory driver roster. Macdonald, meanwhile, moves across from the #58, where he was a race winner in last season's finale at Barcelona alongside Louis Prette and Adam Smalley (below).
“It feels great to go into the new GT World Challenge season with a full McLaren factory driver line-up,” said Kirchhöfer. “Both Dean and Joseph were outstanding last year. Considering Joseph was in his rookie season of GT3 racing he was very fast and super consistent so I’m excited to see his progression continue.
"Dean is a good friend of mine so I’m very happy to finally be sharing a car with him. I think we have an exciting season ahead of us. We have a strong car and I firmly believe this is the strongest McLaren line-up we have seen for a long time. Let’s see what we can do!”
Macdonald has effectively swapped places with Benji Goethe (below), who will contest the Endurance rounds aboard the #58. The full-time drivers will be the continuing Prette and Tom Fleming, who joined for the second half of the Sprint campaign and scored three Gold Cup wins.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back in the Garage 59 McLaren this year," said Prette. “We finished last season on a high with several class wins and an overall victory in Barcelona, so the momentum is definitely there.
"Teaming up with Tom across both Sprint and Endurance looks very promising – we already showed strong pace together in Sprint – and having Benji join us for the Endurance rounds makes it feel like we’ve got a really strong lineup. I can’t wait to get the season started at Paul Ricard.”
The 2026 campaign gets underway at Circuit Paul Ricard on the weekend of 11/12 April, while the opening Sprint Cup contest will take place at Brands Hatch on 2/3 May. Tickets for both of these events and others – including the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – are on sale now. Click here for more information.