Charlie Martin and Emily Bishop maintain McLaren Trophy Europe AM lead with Misano double podium

Charlie Martin and Emily Bishop maintained their lead in the AM class standings of the 2026 McLaren Trophy Europe after a challenging but ultimately productive third round at Misano, where extreme heat and a demanding learning curve tested the #96 Niemann Autosport pairing.

Photo credits: Dan Bathie

Charlie Martin and Emily Bishop maintained their lead in the AM class standings of the 2026 McLaren Trophy Europe after a challenging but ultimately productive third round at Misano, where extreme heat and a demanding learning curve tested the #96 Niemann Autosport pairing.

Despite missing out on a second victory of the season, Martin and Bishop secured back-to-back podium finishes, taking second place in Race 1 before adding a third-place result in the second contest to extend their AM class championship advantage.

The duo arrived at the Italian circuit as the class leaders after their first weekend together at Spa-Francorchamps, where Martin had taken pole position, before recovering from a dramatic opening-race accident to claim victory in Race 2 alongside Bishop. The result had marked Bishop's first weekend at this level of international GT competitions, coming during her first outing in the McLaren Artura Trophy EVO and her first visit to the iconic Belgian circuit.

Misano presented another challenge for both drivers, with neither having previously raced at the technical Italian venue and temperatures remaining extremely high throughout the weekend. Bishop had nevertheless continued to make progress since Spa, with a test day at Zandvoort helping her build confidence in the McLaren and further understand the significantly faster machinery compared to the cars she had previously raced in the US.

The weekend began in difficult fashion when a technical issue limited the duo to only a handful of laps during the opening practice session. The problem left the team around ten seconds off the pace, but the pairing immediately began recovering ground in FP2. The #96 McLaren improved to a best time of 1:42.594, finding several seconds and significantly reducing the gap to the front.

Bishop continued that progress during Saturday morning's final practice session, setting a 1:42.156 to finish tenth overall and third among the AM runners. She then delivered another significant step forward in qualifying, improving to a 1:40.455 during her segment to qualify 17th overall and third in class.

Photo credits: Dan Bathie

The American racer therefore took the start of the opening race from third in AM and immediately produced strong opening laps. Bishop made a clean getaway and held her position through the opening corners, initially running ahead of Coelho and Valkre. Although the latter eventually moved ahead, Bishop retained third in class and was promoted to second when the #63 AM entry of Leimer encountered problems on the second lap.

Bishop quickly opened a comfortable gap to Coelho behind and kept the margin to the AM car ahead stable, but her promising run was interrupted on lap six when she encountered an issue herself that sent her down the order. She attempted to continue for a lap, but with 38 minutes remaining the team was forced to bring her into the pits to assess the problem before the pit window had opened.

Niemann Autosport worked quickly to repair the issue and Bishop was able to return to the track, albeit having lost two laps to the field. Rather than ending her stint early, she continued to maximize her driving time, setting personal-best sectors as she continued to gain experience around Misano.

Bishop eventually remained out until lap 16, when she made her scheduled stop and handed the car over to Martin. Despite the earlier setback, she had delivered a strong and determined stint, holding third in AM.

Martin rejoined the race in 18th overall, with the #11 Pro entry falling behind after encountering problems during its pit stop. The #16 McLaren of Smith led the AM class ahead of the #63 car, while Martin was now two laps behind the class leaders. With the race effectively becoming a battle of consistency and opportunity, the British driver continued to push and wait for the possibility of a change in circumstances.

That opportunity arrived on lap 19 when the #63 McLaren of Jonathan Cochet encountered technical issues and was forced to pit for a second time. Class leader Mark Smith was also handed a penalty for speeding in the pit lane, further reshaping the AM order.

Martin, meanwhile, had to negotiate traffic as the overall leaders battled among themselves, with two of the front-running cars even making contact on lap 20. She reacted well to the incident and kept the #96 McLaren clean, moving up to 17th overall and second in class with ten minutes remaining.

A late safety car was then deployed when the #99 car of Largim Ali stopped on track, with Martin moving up to 15th overall and retaining second in AM. The race restarted with three minutes remaining and she gained another overall position when Castelli was forced to pit with damage.

Martin ultimately crossed the finish line 14th overall and second in the AM class. The result represented a superb recovery from the problems that had hindered Bishop's opening stint and underlined the value of never giving up, with the duo converting a difficult race into another podium finish.

Photo credits: Gherardo Benfenati

Martin then took over the driving duties for Sunday morning's final practice and qualifying sessions. She finished 15th in practice before setting a 1:39.812 during her qualifying segment, once again qualifying third in the AM class and putting the #96 McLaren in contention for another podium.

The British driver took the start of Race 2 from 19th overall and third in AM, immediately settling into a close fight with Jonathan Cochet. Mark Smith led the class just a few cars ahead, while Martin consistently lapped in the 1:40s and continued to build her pace despite the extreme temperatures and increasingly difficult tyre conditions.

As the pit window approached, the #11 car of Burgoyne stopped on track and the safety car was eventually deployed. With the pit window opening just before the caution period, most of the field came into the pits, including Martin, who handed the car over to Bishop from third in the AM class.

The race soon returned to green and Bishop once again delivered a consistent and increasingly confident stint. She maintained third in class while continuing to improve her sector times, lapping in the 1:42s and gradually closing the gap to the cars ahead.

A five-second penalty for Leimer temporarily gave Bishop additional hope of challenging for second, although the rival had built a significant margin. The class-leading #16 McLaren then encountered an issue and slowed dramatically before managing to continue, losing the lead in the process.

Bishop moved up to 17th overall when Legeret was forced to pit with problems and continued to produce consistent lap times. She gradually reduced the gap to the Pro-Am entry of David Coelho, setting a new personal best race lap of 1:42.344 on lap 25.

With the tyres increasingly worn in the final minutes, Bishop nevertheless continued to push and gained almost two seconds on Coelho on lap 27 alone. However, with around 14 seconds still separating the two cars and the race approaching its conclusion, there was not enough time remaining to mount a final challenge.

Late drama further up the field saw Leimer spun around on the final lap, although the McLaren was able to rejoin and retain the class victory. Bishop ultimately crossed the finish line third in AM, securing another clean podium result for the #96 pairing.

The double podium represented a strong result from a weekend that had initially threatened to become much more difficult. Both drivers had to contend with their first experience of Misano and extreme temperatures that made the already demanding conditions even more difficult.

Photo credits: Dan Bathie

Martin admitted that the weekend had been challenging, particularly after the pair's impressive performance at Spa: “We had a bit of a hiccup in FP1 with a cracked radiator, I think Emily got about five laps, which was tricky, put us both on the back foot really from day one,” she explained.

“I feel like from my side I've been playing catch up a bit. I didn't manage to find the pace that I had at Spa, which has been a frustration. Throw in the heat, which has been really, really heavy. You look at the grid today after the race, people were nearly passed out. I think everybody struggled.”

Nevertheless, the British driver was pleased to have converted the difficult weekend into two clean races and two podium finishes.

“So I think I've got a few excuses for our performance, but personally, I feel I've not driven as well as I should have done. But equally, the team have been great. We've had a clean race one, clean race two. I think after Spa we needed that."

“And we've come away with second and third. Solid points, still leading in AM. Lots of positives and things to work on. But it's our first time here in very difficult conditions. Next race is Barcelona in October. So we have a big break now. Chance to reset.”

For Bishop, the weekend represented another important step in her rapid development. The American continued to adapt to the McLaren Artura, with the test day at Zandvoort proving particularly valuable after her first weekend at Spa.

“I'm still trying to get used to the car. It's much quicker than mostly everything else I've raced. Obviously, first time at Misano, I felt like I was getting there and then it just got so hot all week. Like, halfway through each stint, I was just dying. But the guys, the manager, gave us a great car. It was just hard to put it all together this weekend. I think the heat was a big part of it.”

“I managed to get a test day in at Zandvoort", she continued. "It was really helpful just to get comfortable in the car. Getting a test day in was really helpful. I feel like I'm wrapping my head around the car a bit.”

After three rounds, Martin continues to lead the AM class championship with 41.5 points, while Bishop's rapid progress has continued despite having only a handful of races on her résumé.

Consistency has now become the key objective for the pairing. After a victory at Spa and two further podiums at Misano, Martin and Bishop will return to action following the summer break for the fourth round of the season at Barcelona from October 2-4. The circuit will offer Martin another opportunity to draw on previous experience, having previously demonstrated strong pace there during her Lamborghini Super Trofeo years, while Bishop will continue her steep but impressive learning curve in the McLaren Artura.