In Pixar's Cars 2, Lightning McQueen competes in the World Grand Prix.
The World Grand Prix is a three-race international competition organized to promote Allinol, a new alternative fuel. Lightning enters as a leading racer, while his friend Mater becomes entangled in the spy plot surrounding the event.
The competition visits Tokyo, Porto Corsa, and London. Each race uses a distinctive setting and surface, allowing the film to expand beyond the oval-track tradition of the Piston Cup seen in the first Cars movie.
The World Grand Prix is not the Piston Cup. The Piston Cup is the recurring American stock-car championship associated with Lightning's original career, while the World Grand Prix is a special international event created for Cars 2. Confusing the two competitions changes both the film's geography and its storyline.