Zac Meakin ended the fourth round of the 2025 McLaren Trophy on the top step of the podium as the culmination of a long weekend’s work resulted in race two victory at the famed Nurburgring.
The 18-year-old and SMC Motorsport team-mate Harry Burgoyne toiled through the first of three practice sessions on Friday as they attempted to fettle the #68 McLaren Artura Trophy EVO to the demands of the former German Grand Prix circuit, before moving to second on the timesheets next time out. The third and final session then saw the pair go one better, setting the pace as the field geared up for the two days of qualifying and racing to follow.
Given how Friday had ended, Saturday morning’s timed session to set the grid for the first race of the weekend later in the day proved frustrating for Meakin as, despite getting within a second of the pole position time, the competitive nature of spec series racing meant that the papaya-and-blue SMC machine would only line up on the third row.
Burgoyne would be in the car for the standing start and kept himself out of trouble as he latched on to the tail of the lead group but, despite pressuring the car in front, the Scot would only move up the order as the pit-stop cycle took effect, handing over to Meakin after the additional three second ‘success penalty’ that came with their podium at Spa-Francorchamps last time out. Meakin rejoined in sixth, but quickly claimed a place and, in the midst of a stint-long battle, briefly got as high as fourth before being demoted again. Try as he might, the 2024 British GT champion could not get close enough to launch another challenge and had to be content with fifth at the flag.
When Sunday greeted the teams with similar cool, dry conditions, the SMC pairing might have thought that they were in for a similar outcome but, almost from the start, showed their true pace and, after giving best in the day’s sole practice session, claimed the fastest time in qualifying to edge their Saturday nemesis by nearly two-tenths of a second.
This time, Meakin took the start but a slightly tardy getaway saw the #20 drop to third on the road going through the opening sequence of corners. While it only took a couple of laps to dispose of the other SMC entry and move into second, the teenager still had to close a gap to the leader, but steadily chipped away at the deficit to move within striking range as the pit-stop window loomed, crucially taking advantage of the leader’s ‘success’ penalty by closing right up on the in-lap and nailing the pit entry to give Burgoyne the opportunity to rejoin at the head of the field. Once in front, the #20 would not be moved, despite coming under pressure throughout the second half of the race, and eventually took the chequered flag with a half-second advantage to give the all-British crew their first win in the series.
“I’m super happy with the way the weekend finished off,” Meakin commented. “We didn’t get the result we wanted in race one, but certainly made up for it in race two. I think Harry and I both did a mega job, and now want to keep the momentum rolling as we head to the final round at Paul Ricard.”
With the fifth and final round of the McLaren Trophy not until early October, Meakin will next be back on track for round six of the International Open GT Championship at Austria’s Red Bull Ring this weekend (6-7th September).
