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An opening-lap incident at Turn 1 forced the #2, driven by Fayer, into evasive action to avoid a multi-car LMP2 collision. Having successfully avoided the wreck, while rejoining the circuit, Fayer was struck by another car in class, sustaining damage to the rear-left corner, resulting in an early ‘behind the wall’ for repairs and placing the car on the back foot within the first few seconds of the race.
In contrast, the #22 made an excellent start, with Goldburg driving assertively, gaining seven positions during the opening stint and quickly establishing the car as a contender in the lead LMP2 group. A Full Course Yellow reset the field, with the safety car peeling in to pit lane and racing resuming some 24 minutes later.
The #2 rejoined the race 46 minutes in, still with Fayer behind the wheel, but already 20 laps down following extensive early repairs. Goldburg made the first pit stop for the #22 after 38 minutes, taking fuel only, committing to a long opening stint strategy.
Fayer returned to pit lane an hour and a half into the race for tyres and fuel, as the team continued to work through the consequences of the opening-lap contact. However, that wasn’t all for Fayer. Shortly before the three-hour point, the #2 was forced back into the pits with reports of braking issues. The car once again, returned back ‘behind the wall’, where the team uncovered a driveshaft fault linked to the opening-lap incident. Leaking grease contaminated the brake calipers, igniting a small fire, which was quickly extinguished. While the crew responded flawlessly, the stop inflicted even more loss of time, and when it returned was 37 laps behind the leader. Meanwhile, Grégoire Saucy delivered one of the standout stints of the race. Charging the #22 to second position in class, built a two-second cushion, and was actively hunting down the class leader with controlled, relentless pace.
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An opening-lap incident at Turn 1 forced the #2, driven by Fayer, into evasive action to avoid a multi-car LMP2 collision. Having successfully avoided the wreck, while rejoining the circuit, Fayer was struck by another car in class, sustaining damage to the rear-left corner, resulting in an early ‘behind the wall’ for repairs and placing the car on the back foot within the first few seconds of the race.
In contrast, the #22 made an excellent start, with Goldburg driving assertively, gaining seven positions during the opening stint and quickly establishing the car as a contender in the lead LMP2 group. A Full Course Yellow reset the field, with the safety car peeling in to pit lane and racing resuming some 24 minutes later.
The #2 rejoined the race 46 minutes in, still with Fayer behind the wheel, but already 20 laps down following extensive early repairs. Goldburg made the first pit stop for the #22 after 38 minutes, taking fuel only, committing to a long opening stint strategy.
Fayer returned to pit lane an hour and a half into the race for tyres and fuel, as the team continued to work through the consequences of the opening-lap contact. However, that wasn’t all for Fayer. Shortly before the three-hour point, the #2 was forced back into the pits with reports of braking issues. The car once again, returned back ‘behind the wall’, where the team uncovered a driveshaft fault linked to the opening-lap incident. Leaking grease contaminated the brake calipers, igniting a small fire, which was quickly extinguished. While the crew responded flawlessly, the stop inflicted even more loss of time, and when it returned was 37 laps behind the leader. Meanwhile, Grégoire Saucy delivered one of the standout stints of the race. Charging the #22 to second position in class, built a two-second cushion, and was actively hunting down the class leader with controlled, relentless pace.
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As the race progressed into the afternoon, evening, and overnight hours, the event became increasingly shaped by an extraordinary Full Course Yellow period that ultimately lasted for more than six and a half hours, the longest in Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona history. Triggered primarily by heavy fog, low cloud, and severely reduced visibility, the extended caution neutralised a large portion of the race throughout the night and placed an unprecedented emphasis on strategy, fuel management, tyre preservation, and procedural discipline.
With normal racing conditions repeatedly interrupted, teams were required to adapt to rapidly changing scenarios, including emergency fuel regulations, split pit strategies, and compressed fields following restarts. The United Autosports team executed consistently under these conditions, particularly with the #22, which remained firmly in podium contention despite the lack of sustained green-flag momentum.
“This was one of the most disrupted Rolex 24s we’ve ever experienced”, says Richard Dean – United Autosports CEO & Team Principal. “Spending over six and a half hours under Full Course Yellow completely changes how you approach a race like this — it becomes less about outright speed and more about discipline, decision-making, and execution.
The team handled an incredibly challenging situation very well. The #22 had the pace to fight for the win and the drivers delivered some exceptional stints whenever we went green. The #2 had everything thrown at it from the opening lap onwards, but the crew never gave up, and the car reached the finish, which says a lot about the effort put in by the entire crew.”
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Despite the challenges, the #22 remained inside the top three for extended periods, with Daniel Goldburg, Rasmus Lindh, Grégoire Saucy and Paul di Resta sharing driving duties and maintaining competitive pace whenever green-flag running resumed. The #2 with Phil Fayer, Ben Hanley, Hunter McElrea and recently announced McLaren WEC Hypercar programme driver, Mikkel Jensen continued to fight the up-hill battle making up as much time as possible, as the night turned to day, with the end of the challenging 24-hour race in sight.
A late safety car once again compressed the field heading into the final hours, setting up a tense conclusion to the race. United Autosports USA continued to execute faultless pit stops, driver changes and consistent stints as green-flag opportunities emerged late in the event. After 24 demanding hours, Paul di Resta brought the #22 United Autosports LMP2 home in fourth place, narrowly missing out on a podium finish by 9.3 seconds, in a race where long caution periods limited opportunities to capitalise on outright pace.
The #2 car, driven to the finish by Hunter McElrea, completed a determined comeback to secure tenth in class, a result that reflected the scale of the early damage, mechanical challenges, and the unusually disrupted nature of the race.
“The 2026 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona proved to be a very challenging race. Our number 2 car comes away from its second consecutive Daytona 24 having had its race ruined through no fault of their own” says Max Gregory – United Autosports Managing Director. “We were aiming for consecutive victories and to be honest, had a faultless run with the 22 car. Generally speaking, if you have a faultless run in a 24 hour race you should normally find yourself on the podium, so naturally we are disappointed, but I’m encouraged by the performance, adaptability, and resilience shown by our drivers and crew, we look ahead to the rest of the IMSA Championship with confidence knowing we have a fantastic team of people around us.”
Daniel Goldburg, the #22 car driver added;
“I’ve done enough of these now to know just finishing is an achievement. Two years now, we’ve run great races, all drivers and team doing a killer job – nearly no mistakes. That’s 24 hours, with very few mistakes, which is a crazy endeavour. This year we just didn’t have the speed at the end to challenge the lead, however, it’s a solid start to the season and I’m proud of mine and our team’s performance.”
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship standings for United Autosports USA, are as follows:
#2 Oreca LMP2 – 231 points. *
#22 Oreca LMP2 – 310 points. *
The 2026 IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Championship continues with the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida, on Saturday 21 March, starting at 10:10 EST. Stay up to date with the team in the meantime on social @unitedautosports.
*Results remain provisional.