Oliver Jarvis, Daniel Schneider and Marino Sato take second place in the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps LMP2 Pro/Am class
This weekend, the #21 LMP2 Pro/Am crew secured their first podium result of the 2025 season, with Daniel Schneider, Oliver Jarvis and Marino Sato taking second place in an incident-filled edition of the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – while, heartbreakingly, the #22 LMP2 and #23 McLaren GT3 suffered two DNFs.
21 United Autosports ORECA 07 LMP2 Pro/Am entry in the 2025 European Le Mans Series
#21 LMP2 PRO/AM
QUALI P7 | RACE P2 | CHAMP P6
Daniel Schneider took the start from P7, gaining to P4 in the opening three laps before settling in P6. The #21 crew opted for an alternative strategy, which paid dividends during the second Virtual Safety Car which saw Olly Jarvis undercut the field in the pits, rejoining the track with already-hot rubber and racing into P1, quickly building a gap as competitors worked to warm their tyres.
Marino Sato took over with one hour and 15 minutes left on the clock, fighting to maintain position through unfortunately timed traffic. A lucky dive into the pits just prior to an FCY by the #20 APR car, meaning they were able to serve their final pit stop under yellow conditions, gaining substantial time in the process, put the race victory out of reach for Sato.
In the closing laps, the #21’s fate looked sealed at third place - however, in a nail-biting finish, an incident on the final lap for the car ahead upgraded the team to second, delivering the #21 car’s fourth LMP2 Pro/Am podium result in three seasons, and their second in three years at Spa-Francorchamps.
Daniel Schneider: “That was good! We had a really great car for the race. After trying different set ups for Free Practice … this one was spot on. So I really enjoyed it! I could push as much as I wanted to and the car responded nicely. At the start, I jumped forward a few places, kept the pace and brought it home clean to everyone. The pit stops were spot on … the win was in sight but we didn’t get it. So it’s a little bittersweet. This feeling of P2 is nice and I’ll take it, but it was close. We did a good job and it’s creating good momentum for the second half of the season.”
Oliver Jarvis: “It’s a fantastic feeling to be back on the podium after a difficult start to the year. I think we showed really good pace today, had a good strategy and some really good fights. Daniel did a superb job in the opening couple of stints - it was really enjoyable to watch. And that set up our race from there. We were fighting for the win, a few things didn’t go our way. But we’ll take P2 and leave the track happy.”
Marino Sato: “Top three result for the first time this year, it’s great to be back on the podium! It’s been a while since I was there last time … so I’m very happy. Until the end of my first stint, I feel like we were in the fight to win. I would not say we were unlucky, but we were not quite lucky enough to win the race this time. Our progression has been huge over the week, from the test days to free practice and quali. Especially for Daniel who drove a really good first stint today. Olly had a tougher time with traffic and I feel like I had a very similar situation. The risks I had to take to get through the traffic and get the lap time … it paid off, but where I was getting the traffic was very unlucky. I would clear the cars in the corner and the guy behind would then clear them on the straight. I think that’s where we probably lost it today but overall, I think it’s good momentum that we are building. Looking forward to Silverstone!”
22 LMP2 and 23 McLaren GT3 United Autosports entries at the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
#22 LMP2
QUALI P5 | RACE DNF | CHAMP P12
Gregoire Saucy kicked the weekend off with P5 in Qualifying – the #22 crew’s strongest Quali result so far this season. On Sunday afternoon, Manuel Maldonado took the opening stint, with strong pace, slick pit stops and four hours ahead. Heartbreakingly, however, just after the one-hour mark, Manuel suffered heavy impact with the tyre wall at T15, causing race-ending damage for the #22.
#23 LMGT3
QUALI P9 | RACE DNF | CHAMP P13
The McLaren crew demonstrated strong pace from the start in Spa, topping the timesheets in both FP1 (Wayne Boyd) and FP2 (Garnet Patterson). On race day, Michael Birch started from P9 on the grid, dropping a few places at the start but working hard and gaining them back towards the end of his stint. Just minutes away from the driver change, however, an incident resulted in damage which ultimately caused the #23 McLaren to DNF for the first time this season.
MANAGEMENT
Max Gregory: “It’s fantastic to see Daniel and the #21 crew back on the podium. The win was in sight, but we just fell short today. The drivers and crew absolutely deserve it, everyone worked tirelessly, so we look forward to continuing this positive trajectory at Silverstone and beyond. At the opposite end of the spectrum, it was devastation for the #22 LMP2 and #23 McLaren. One DNF is hard enough to take, but two is really tough for everyone involved. There’s a lot of work to do before Silverstone, but we will come back fighting and we are super excited for our first home race back in the UK since 2019.”
The next round of the European Le Mans Series is the hotly-anticipated 4 Hours of Silverstone on 14thSeptember 2025 – but first the LMGT3 team are Texas-bound for Lone Star Le Mans. Stay up to date on social @unitedautosports.