McLaren Adds Rougier, Gachet to Factory GT Roster

McLaren has announced the addition of French duo Arthur Rougier and Simon Gachet to its roster of factory GT drivers for the new season.

Rougier and Gachet join a five-strong pool of factory drivers for the British brand alongside Marvin Kirchhoefer, 2024 newcomer Dean McDonald and Benjamin Goethe.

It follows last November’s news of Rob Bell calling time on his driving career in favor of a sporting director role with McLaren after a long spell with the Woking organization, and Tom Gamble moving on to Aston Martin for the 2025 campaign.

Gachet, 31, was a mainstay of  long-time Audi squad Sainteloc Racing’s lineup in GT3 competition, and continued to represent the Ingolstadt marque in GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS last year with the CSA Racing team.

Rougier, 25, has also been a part of the CSA lineup in GTWC Europe for the past two years, and drove for Emil Frey Racing for two seasons prior to that.

German-Danish driver Goethe, elder brother to Formula 2 racer Oliver, meanwhile gets full factory status having previously been a Junior Pro driver for McLaren.

That category now comprises three drivers: Ben Doerr, Adam Smalley and Joseph Loake.

Doerr and Smalley already have experience of McLaren GT3 machinery from the DTM and British GT respectively, while Loake makes the move from single-seaters, having raced in FIA Formula 3 last season.

Completing an 11-strong roster for McLaren are Graduate Drivers Josh Rattican, Aston Millar and Tommy Pintos, who was part of the winning duo for the inaugural season of the one-make McLaren Trophy series in 2023.

“I’m delighted to welcome Arthur, Simon, Adam, Joseph and Tommy to the McLaren family and welcome back Aston as we expand our line-up to 11 drivers,” said McLaren Automotive director of motorsport Ian James.

“We have a formidable roster of McLaren Factory Drivers heading up the squad as we enter the 2025 season with high hopes for strong results.

“With Rob Bell now our Sporting Director, they have an excellent mentor who will help in their individual programmes as well as their other activities, including coaching our Junior Pro and Graduate Drivers.”

Bell added: “This group represents a really strong line up of current and future talent for McLaren Motorsport. Dean has been part of the family for a while now and has progressed through the ranks and earned his stripes, so it’s really pleasing to have him as a fully-fledged Factory Driver.

“Similarly, Tommy Pintos impressed us all in McLaren Trophy over the past few years, so to have him move onto the factory programme demonstrates exactly what we want the one-make series to do, unearth future talent that we can nurture through the programme.

“It’s a really exciting bunch, and I can’t wait to see what they accomplish this season.”