United Autosports return to the Red Bull Ring in Austria this weekend as they prepare for round two of the European Le Mans Series.
The Red Bull Ring hasn’t been seen on the ELMS calendar since 2018, where United Autosports finished third with Phil Hanson and Filipe Albuquerque. Prior to that, Filipe, along with Hugo de Sadeleer and Will Owen won the 2017 race at Red Bull Ring, with John Falb and Sean Rayhall finishing second in the LMP3 class. In 2016, Alex Brundle, Mike Guasch and Christian England won the LMP3 race, their third out of three races, on their way to sealing United’s maiden ELMS LMP3 title.
The #22 LMP2 crew of Phil Hanson, Tom Gamble and Jonathan Aberdein will be aiming to build on their third-place finish at Barcelona last month, while the #32 crew of Job van Uitert, Manuel Maldonado and Nico Jamin will be aiming high after a disappointing race in Spain.
In LMP3, both crews are looking to improve on their results in Barcelona. Wayne Boyd, Edouard Cauhaupe and Rob Wheldon are aiming to get their title defence back on track in Austria after starter motor failure for the #2 ruined their race in Spain. The #3 crew of Jim McGuire, Duncan Tappy and Andrew Bentley started the weekend well after Duncan’s pole position, but struggled with pace during the race, leaving them further down the points than they were hoping for.
The Michelin Le Mans Cup team will not be racing at Red Bull Ring this weekend. They will be back on track at Paul Ricard next month.
Phil Hanson
“I’m very excited to head back to the Red Bull Ring. It’s probably my favourite track on the ELMS calendar this year and I’m glad we are heading back there. Since I’ve been with United, I’ve only raced there once so I’m really happy it is back. I’ve always had a good feeling at Red Bull Ring. Coming off the back of a race win at Spa for the WEC, I’m more motivated than ever to replicate that in Austria.”
Tom Gamble
“I’m really looking forward to heading to Red Bull Ring for the second round of the European Le Mans Series. It will be my first time racing at this amazing circuit and I can’t wait for it. We had a good start to the season with a third-place finish in Barcelona and I’m confident we can better that this time round and push for the win.”
Jonathan Aberdein
“Personally, Red Bull Ring is one of my favourite tracks. Sector three is ultra-high speed and flowing. The lap is quite short so I think it will be interesting trying to manage all the traffic. I think the key to a successful race weekend will again be in the qualifying as in Barcelona.”
Job van Uitert
“I have really good memories of Red Bull Ring. It’s an amazing track, definitely high up on my favourites list. I won there the last time in 2018. So let’s hope history repeats.”
Manuel Maldonado
“It’s time to go racing again, this time at the Red Bull Ring. This is one of my favourite tracks and we will be in a strong position once again to get the result we are looking for. We were disappointed with the result in Barcelona so all three of us are aiming higher this weekend.”
Nico Jamin
“I’m very excited to be going back to the Red Bull Ring. It is a track that I particularly enjoy and I’ve had good success there in the past. We didn’t have the start of the season we hoped for at Barcelona, but we are fully focused on achieving a great result in Austria.”
Wayne Boyd
“I’m really looking forward to Red Bull Ring. I’ve raced there three times before with United and we’ve always been strong. We had the pace to win at Barcelona, but we were very unfortunate, so we’ll be pushing to win here to get our championship defence back on track.”
Edouard Cauhaupe
“I’m looking forward to the next race at the Red Bull Ring. I don’t know this track, so I’m really excited to go there and learn it. After the disappointment at Barcelona, we need to do a perfect race and to score the maximum points for the championship.”
Rob Wheldon
“I’m looking forward to heading back to the Red Bull Ring. I haven’t raced there for around 10 years. Although Barcelona didn’t give the result we had the capability of, the pace was there to challenge for the win, so hopefully we can carry on where we left off and get our championship defence back on track.”
Jim McGuire
“I’m so glad to see Red Bull Ring back in the schedule! It is a tremendous circuit with top facilities. We are hoping for a more competitive run after Barcelona and it will be great to see all the United Autosports AERO Liveried cars back on track.”
Duncan Tappy
“Red Bull Ring is one of my favourite circuits, so I’m excited to be heading back there for the next ELMS round with the #3 crew. Round one at Barcelona was a tough race for us but we showed in qualifying that our United Autosports AERO car is capable of P1 so hopefully we can have a stronger race in Austria.”
Andrew Bentley
“After a fantastic qualifying, the race did not go to plan in Barcelona and we’ll be working flat out to correct that at the Red Bull Ring. I’ve never driven at the track so I’m looking forward to that added challenge, but everyone says it’s a great circuit. I can’t wait to get back out on track in the Ligier JS P320.”
Zak Brown
“I’m hoping for some good results for our ELMS team at Red Bull Ring. We have always performed well there so it is good to see the circuit back on the calendar for 2021.”
Richard Dean
“I’m really pleased the ELMS organisers put Red Bull Ring back on the calendar for this year. Not only is it a fantastic track, but it is also very picturesque. The aim is clear for the LMP3 team. We have to win to get our championship challenge back on track. Our LMP2 team are coming off the back of a win at Spa for the WEC and a third place at Barcelona so they also have to give it their all to score maximum points this weekend.”
Source. United Autosports
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