What race is the central international event in Pixar's Cars 2?

The World Grand Prix is the central international race event in Pixar's Cars 2.

Sir Miles Axlerod creates the event to promote Allinol, an alternative fuel. The competition has three main races, held in Tokyo, Porto Corsa, and London. Lightning McQueen enters the series, while Mater becomes involved in an international espionage plot after being mistaken for an American secret agent.

The World Grand Prix is a fictional competition created for the sequel. It is not the same event as the Piston Cup, the stock-car championship that dominates the first Cars film and remains important to Lightning's career. Cars 2 expands the franchise beyond Radiator Springs by placing its characters in recognizable international settings.

The event's storyline also connects racing with the film's mystery about Allinol and alternative fuels. That plot makes the World Grand Prix more than a sports backdrop: it is the mechanism bringing the racers, spies, manufacturers, and villains together.