- Leading autoimmune disease charity, Race for RP, joins the partner roster for the debut McLaren Trophy America season.
- Partnership aims to raise awareness and funds for Relapsing Polychondritis, a rare and degenerative autoimmune disease.
- Branding will appear on race cars starting from the season opener at Sonoma Raceway, California.
McLaren Trophy America is proud to welcome Race for RP as an official championship partner as the series expands into the United States for the 2025 season. This partnership, which aims to raise awareness and funds for Relapsing Polychondritis, a rare and degenerative autoimmune disease, ensures that all competing cars will feature Race for RP branding starting at the season opener in Sonoma, California. In addition, the organization will have a branded presence in the paddock, along with promotional activations—including a charity auction to support vital research.
Race for RP is a motorsports-driven initiative dedicated to raising awareness and accelerating research for Relapsing Polychondritis (RP) and other autoimmune diseases. Unlike the typical driver/race team model, Race for RP ambassadors and drivers do not receive sponsorship funds from the organization to drive but instead volunteer their platforms to help raise awareness. The initiative fuels education, supports medical research and amplifies awareness for RP and related conditions.
In 2018, the organization that Race for RP supports, The Relapsing Polychondritis (RP) Foundation, expanded its focus to include RP and related autoimmune disease research, it then began purposefully leveraging the power of motorsports partnerships to catalyze research. Since then, their efforts have netted impressive results. A key figure in this movement is Neil Langberg—affectionately known as "Neilio" in the paddock—who has a long-standing relationship with McLaren, having competed in both the Pure McLaren series and McLaren Trophy Europe.
The 2025 McLaren Trophy America season kicks off at Sonoma Raceway, California, over March 28–30, marking the first of five race weekends. Each event will feature two 50-minute races, forming part of the SRO-run GT World Challenge America package. With expected crowds in the tens of thousands and full live streaming on YouTube, this partnership offers an incredible platform to amplify awareness for Race for RP’s important mission.
"Race for RP is excited to partner with McLaren and the Trophy America Series as their chosen charity. Our mission to raise awareness and accelerate research for relapsing polychondritis (RP) and other autoimmune diseases, both within and beyond the racing community, makes this collaboration an ideal fit to expand our impact. These diseases are not incurable, they are just underfunded, and thanks to the generous support of race teams and drivers who have offered their platforms, we’ve connected with a loyal and compassionate group. By joining forces with McLaren for the inaugural McLaren Trophy America season, we have a unique opportunity to further amplify our message of hope for those affected by RP and other autoimmune diseases."
Nancy Linn, Chair of RP
"The Race for RP's motorsports awareness campaign continues to support the RP Foundation’s mission to advance RP education and transformative research. Whether it's establishing the groundbreaking Penn RP Center to provide patients with access to specialized, multidisciplinary care teams, or providing seed funding for the PURPOSE Biobank at Allegheny Health Network to drive research and enhance the understanding of RP, Race for RP’s initiatives have been pivotal in raising awareness, fostering education, accelerating research, and building on the remarkable progress we’ve made."
David Bammert, President of the RP Foundation and Race for RP
“We are very pleased to welcome Race for RP to the McLaren Trophy America paddock. Neil is no stranger to us, having been part of the McLaren family for a long time. It is therefore exciting to have Race for RP as a Championship partner and to raise further awareness for the incredible work they do.”
Ian James, Director of Motorsport, McLaren Automotive