United Autosports race at the 4 Hours of Imola
This weekend, the United Autosports trio navigated changeable weather, pile ups and red flags in the third round of the European Le Mans Series, taking a full sweep of championship points in the 4 Hours of Imola with P6 for the #21 LMP2 Pro/Am, P8 for the #22 LMP2 and P10 for the #23 McLaren LMGT3.
In the #21 ORECA 07, Daniel Schneider - who has qualified in the top five consistently for the past five ELMS rounds, since the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in 2024 - started P7 on the grid after a tricky, stormy session on Saturday.
The Brazilian Bronze driver kept it clean as usual through his race day stints, with the team going for a strategic dive into the pits before a Safety Car was released to gain a competitive advantage. Heartbreakingly, what should have been a perfect move didn’t pay off as pit exit closed seconds before Schneider was ready to rejoin the race, putting the #21 one lap down.
Shortly after a red flag restart, Schneider handed over to Oliver Jarvis who - inhibited by multiple FCYs - was unable to push the Pro/Am car to its full potential at a circuit that is well-known to be difficult for overtaking. Marino Sato continued the push, but with more FCYs, gains were hard. Nevertheless, the #21 crew took the checkered flag in a respectable P6.
In the #22 ORECA 07, Manuel Maldonado took the start from P10 with good pace, gaining one place with an overtake in his opening stint. A lightening quick reaction from the British Venezuelan driver saved the #22 from disaster, narrowly avoiding a four-car pile-up which red flagged the race for 20 minutes while the damaged cars were removed from the track.
Gregoire Saucy took over, climbing to P4 before an engine sensor issue temporarily slowed the charge, with quick work from the team to resolve the problem. Ben Hanley jumped in the car with good pace, a new set of slicks and an alternative strategy - in order to fix the engine issue sooner - to make it to the end in two stints. However, a badly timed VSC put Hanley one lap down and behind the LMP2 Pro/Am pack, ending all hopes for a top three finish, ultimately crossing the line P8.
In LMGT3, the papaya crew in the #23 McLaren GT3 Evo had a good start, gaining numerous positions from P12 on the grid. Contact from behind from another competitor resulted in a trip into the gravel half an hour into the race, with Michael Birch successfully rejoining in the McLaren - but two laps down. On the backfoot, in 30-degree heat with light rain setting in, the call was made to stay on slicks. Birch, in his rookie ELMS season, managed the slicks well in wet conditions, but picked up two minor infringements along the way.
Australian driver Garnet Patterson took charge in the #23 McLaren when the wet weather returned, initially gambling on wets but pitting ten laps later to change to slicks as the track dried up. The #23 continued to show good pace, with Wayne Boyd taking over and putting in fast laps to the checkered flag, securing a top 10 finish for the #23.
The next round of the ELMS is the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on the 24th August - but first, a double weekend of racing in the Americas with the WEC McLaren crew taking on the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo in Brazil, and the LMP2 crew in Canada for the IMSA Chevrolet Grand Prix.
Stay tuned this weekend on social @unitedautosports.
Daniel Schneider, Oliver Jarvis and Marino Sato - United Autosports racing drivers
#21 ORECA 07 PRO/AM
QUALI P7 | RACE P6 | CHAMP P7
Daniel Schneider: “For me, my race was pretty good this weekend, I was very happy with the balance, and I had a good stint in the car. I started the race P8 after some tricky conditions in qualifying - I gained back one place in the race before handing over to Olly. I managed to stay out of trouble and had a pretty clean race from my side. We were planning to come in multiple times, but there was FCY after FCY, which in the end had us relying on a hail Mary – which never came – and we ended up having to stop for emergency service. We were looking strong and had the pace to fight but the conditions of the race affected that. Not our weekend, but I’m excited for Spa next.”
Oliver Jarvis: “A difficult race this weekend, we were looking strong in the car, with a clean start for Daniel managing the changing conditions. After what seemed to be the perfect dive into the pits, the pit exit went red seconds before Daniel’s exit putting us a lap down. There were many FCYs thrown in throughout my stint, which kept us out for longer than we wanted. Each time we wanted to pit, we were under FCY, which meant we had to go longer and eventually we had to make an emergency fuel stop. With the weather changing, it was a roll of the dice for wets or slicks. In the end our call didn’t pay off as the rain stopped and the track dried up. With everyone ahead of us on slicks, we were at a disadvantage. A second emergency fuel stop had to happen during Marino’s stint, putting us a lap down. An unfortunate series of events resulted in us going from podium contention to nowhere near it. A bit of bad luck this weekend, but we’ll come back stronger for the next one.”
Marino Sato: “A hard race to manage this weekend, with the changing conditions and quite a few incidents that gave us many setbacks in our strategy. Daniel did well in his stints pushing hard to gain back a place before a red flag stopped the race. It was a very unfortunate situation for Daniel with what should have been the perfect strategy pitting just before the Safety Car, but the pit exit closed before he could get out in front of the pack – setting him one lap down. The car had great pace, Olly drove great but was affected by the many FCYs that caused him and I to need emergency stops for fuel. Our pace could have had us looking at a podium, but luck wasn’t on our side today.”
Manuel Maldonado, Ben Hanley and Gregoire Saucy - United Autosports racing drivers
#22 ORECA 07
QUALI P10 | RACE P8 | CHAMP P8
Manuel Maldonado: “I started the race and thirty minutes in there was a huge crash in front of me that caused the red flag. I narrowly avoided trouble by going into the gravel to pass around. Thankfully, I was able to avoid the many incidents which caused multiple FCYs. The team made a good call for me to stay out on hot slicks when the rain started, as it dried quickly and we were then able to push. In the end, we were affected by an issue that slowed the car, followed by a further virtual safety car that ended our race. We finished P8 but we know we have more to give – we’ll be back to push for Spa.
Gregoire Saucy: “Starting P10 for the race, I think we had nothing to lose. Manuel did a good job, he was unlucky with the crash in front of him and he had to avoid it, so he went to the gravel, so we lost a little bit of time there. Except for that, he did a really good job. When I got in the car the conditions were quite tricky at some points when it started to rain – but we decided to stay out on slicks, which was a good choice, gaining a few positions and running P4 at one point. I think we had the pace to get a good result but we weren’t able to maximise everything. I think in this championship, to get a good result as the level is really high, you need everything to work together without any issues. In the end we finished P8, a bit disappointing as we had the pace to finish P5. We were running P5, but it didn’t work out. We need to keep pushing, to maximise everything we’ve got for the next few races – I’m pretty sure if we do that we will have good results."
Ben Hanley: “Whilst running in the top five, we started having an electrical issue on the engine side that hampered our performance – the team did a great job in diagnosing the issue and managing to get it back. Unfortunately, a strange Virtual Safety Car ruined our chances to push, as we had just pitted before the Safety Car came out - meaning we lost a lot of time and ruined any chance of pushing for a top three result.”
Michael Birch, Garnet Patterson and Wayne Boyd - United Autosports racing drivers
#23 LMGT3
QUALI P12 | RACE P10 | CHAMP P13
Michael Birch: “What a pleasure to race a McLaren at Imola! The car felt really good all weekend, the team worked really hard in very hot conditions and did a superb job giving the drivers a car with good pace, and that we felt we could do well in. Unfortunately, contact early on in the race put us two laps down which we were never going to get back. But we scored our first championship points, and we’ll go to Spa feeling very positive.
Garnet Patterson: “Unfortunate moment for Michael getting spun by a competitor during his stint. His pace all weekend was great and was really encouraging for the whole team. From that point we had to roll the dice on strategy with wet tyres to try and get some laps back, but it unfortunately didn’t rain as predicted. The car felt great, and we had strong pace throughout to fight towards the front. Wayne drove well as always and the team did a fantastic job with setup. Looking forward to the next few rounds and getting some more points!”
Wayne Boyd: “Overall a positive weekend for us, a step forward. From day one the car was fast, we always had strong pace and even throughout the race. It’s unfortunate the result didn’t show that whenever we got hit and sent into the gravel … that was really the end of our strong result. But the fact that we were capable of it, for me, was very positive. I think Michael and Garnet both did a fantastic job - and all the boys and girls on our car, the team couldn’t have done anything better for me this weekend. It just wasn’t our day but moving forward things are looking really good!”
Management
Max Gregory, Managing Director: “In a race like that, getting three cars across the finish line without getting caught up in incidents, and points secured across the board cannot be underestimated! The drivers, crew and pit wall worked hard to stay out of trouble, taking strategic gambles and fighting back when we suffered losses. Throughout the whole week, everyone has worked relentlessly in challenging, hot conditions – thank you team. It’s a shame for the #21 crew especially who should have emerged from the pits in a great position to fight for a strong result. But now we look forward to Spa where we have enjoyed much success in the past.”