United Autosports have won the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours, after the #22 crew of Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque and Paul Di Resta brought their Oreca 07 home in first place after a frantic race, which saw Phil pit the leading Oreca with 10 minutes to go for a splash of fuel, before exiting the pits just in front of the second placed car, crossing the line first to take victory.
The #22 crew also started the race on pole position after Paul Di Resta set the fastest time during the inaugural Hyperpole session on Friday morning – which was also the fastest ever lap by an LMP2 car round Le Mans.
This race result for the #22 crew means they also provisionally win the 2019/2020 FIA World Endurance Championship with one round to go after scoring four straight wins, three pole positions and two further podiums throughout the year.
The race was bittersweet, however as the #32 crew of Alex Brundle, Will Owen and Job van Uitert suffered cruel luck as their Oreca 07 suffered a broken oil pipe at around 6am, meaning they had to pit for repairs from the lead of the race. Repairs in the garage took just over 45 minutes which ultimately dropped them down from battling for the win to 13th. Small consolation was Job van Uitert scoring the fastest lap of the race on lap 248 as he proved how quick he and his team mates had been during the first half of the race in the #32 car.
Zak Brown
“To say that we have won Le Mans is absolutely fantastic. It has been the aim since Richard and I started the team so to now have finally done it is incredible. The team has worked so hard and Phil, Filipe and Paul deserve it. I have to commiserate with Alex, Will and Job though as they were also up there and fighting for the win – I’m not sure who would have won if they had still been in it at the end. They didn’t deserve the bad luck that hit them early this morning.”
Richard Dean
“I’m still a bit speechless really. It’s all feeling very surreal at the moment. Huge congratulations to every single member of the team, they have done a fantastic job. The three drivers worked so hard and were pushing for the full 24 hours. And I don’t know what to say about #32, they were on the same level of pace as the #22 and they would definitely have been at the sharp end come the final hour, but Le Mans can be cruel and we have seen that today with Will, Alex and Job.”
Source. United Autosports
Comments
