What international racing competition is featured in Pixar’s Cars 2?

The World Grand Prix is the international racing competition featured in Pixar’s Cars 2.

Sir Miles Axlerod creates the event to promote Allinol, a new alternative fuel. Lightning McQueen enters the competition and races against drivers from around the world. The events take place in Porto Corsa, Italy; London, England; and Tokyo, Japan, giving Cars 2 a much broader setting than the first film.

The World Grand Prix also provides the cover for the movie’s espionage plot. Mater becomes entangled with secret agents after being mistaken for an operative, while Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell investigate a conspiracy linked to the races. The Piston Cup is the domestic racing series associated with McQueen in the first film, so it is a different competition from the World Grand Prix.