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Founded | 2009 [1] |
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Base | Wakefield, England, United Kingdom |
Team principal(s) | Zak Brown, Richard Dean |
Current series | FIA World Endurance Championship European Le Mans Series Le Mans Cup 24 Hours of Le Mans IMSA SportsCar Championship Asian Le Mans Series Supercars Championship Super2 Series |
Former series | British LMP3 Cup Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup GT Cup Championship British GT British Touring Car Championship GT4 European Series Extreme E |
Current drivers | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Website | unitedautosports |
United Autosports is a sports car racing team [2] [3] based in Wakefield, England, United Kingdom, founded by businessman Zak Brown [4] and former driver Richard Dean. [5]
United Autosports has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans (LMP2 Class) twice - in 2020 [6] and 2024. [7] In 2025, United Autosports won the 24 Hours of Daytona. [8] In 2020, United Autosports became the first ever team to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans (LMP2 Class) and two other endurance sports car championships in the same year – the FIA World Endurance Championship (LMP2) and the European Le Mans Series. [9]
In 2023, United Autosports was announced as the official racing partner of McLaren Automotive in the FIA World Endurance Championship, fielding two McLaren GT3 EVOs in the LMGT3 category from 2024. [10]
In June 2025, McLaren launched McLaren United AS in collaboration with United Autosports to run the manufacturer's LMDh programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2027. [11]
In 2025, United Autosports is contesting the FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 class with McLaren Automotive [12] , the IMSA SportsCar Championship LMP2 class [13] , European Le Mans Series in the LMP2, LMP2 Pro/Am and LMGT3 classes [14] and the 2025/26 Asian Le Mans Series. [15]
United Autosports also prepares and races a range of historic race cars in events across the world, such as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion [16] and the Le Mans [17] and Silverstone [18] Classics.
Since the team's founding in 2009, United Autosports has competed in races around the world, including the Spa 24 Hours, [19] the Bathurst 12 Hour, [20] the Gulf 12 Hours, [21] and the Dubai 24 Hour, [22] along with entering championships such as the British Touring Car Championship, [23] [24] GT Cup, [25] European Supercar Challenge, [26] Ginetta GT4 Supercup, [27] FIA GT3 European Championship, [28] and Blancpain Endurance Series [29] and the British GT Championship. [30] [31] The team has also raced in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, [32] Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, [33] Macau GT Cup, [34] and Petit Le Mans. [35]
United Autosports has a partnership with the Walkinshaw Andretti United race team in Australia. [36]
United Autosports has signed guest drivers including Fernando Alonso, Tom Kristensen [37] , Mark Blundell, David Brabham, Martin Brundle, Eddie Cheever, Paul di Resta, Johnny Herbert, Stefan Johansson, Arie Luyendyk, Juan Pablo Montoya, Bruno Senna, Markus Winkelhock and Lando Norris.
The team achieved podium finishes in the 2010 FIA GT3 European Championship, [38] [39] 24 Hours of Spa, [40] [41] 2010 1000 km of Zhuhai [42] [43] and the Macau Grand Prix. [44] [45]
The team partnered with Michael Shank Racing for the 2011 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, finishing fourth in the Daytona prototype class. [46] The Ford Riley Daytona Prototype was driven by Martin Brundle, Mark Blundell, Mark Patterson and Zak Brown.
United Autosports competed in the 2011 British GT Championship with Matt Bell, John Bintcliffe, Jay Palmer and Mike Guasch. [47]
They also contested the FIA GT3 European Championship with Matt Bell, Zak Brown, Joe Osborne and Mark Patterson. [48] That year they also entered 2011 Petit Le Mans, with drivers Mark Patterson, Stefan Johansson and Zak Brown. [49]
In January the team made its début in the Dubai 24 Hours with two Audi R8 LMS cars. [50] The team also became one of the first customers for the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 and raced two examples in the Blancpain Endurance Series for drivers Zak Brown, Mark Blundell, Mark Patterson, Álvaro Parente, Matt Bell and David Brabham. Although still racing the Audi R8 LMS in the 2012 British GT Championship, they switched to McLarens for the final few rounds of the UK national series. United Autosports achieved the first win for the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 at Snetterton in the British GT Championship with Matt Bell and Charles Bateman behind the wheel. [51] Further British GT Championship wins came for Bell and Bateman at Silverstone and also at Donington Park for Zak Brown and Álvaro Parente. [52]
In 2013, United Autosports once again entered the British GT Championship with two McLaren MP4-12C GT3 cars and their one remaining Audi R8 LMS ultra. [53] Matt Bell and Mark Patterson came second in the championship after scoring three podiums and a win at the final round at Donington Park. [54] They missed out on the title in their Audi by only half a point. However, this was the season when the team won its first championship title, with Jim and Glynn Geddie in the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 in the European Supercar Challenge. [55]
The new season saw United Autosports contest the British Touring Car Championship with a pair of Toyota Avensis Touring Cars and drivers James Cole and Glynn Geddie. [56] The team also entered the 2014 Ginetta GT4 Supercup support race with Luke Davenport and Carl Breeze, [57] [58] winning the Team title at the end of the year. [59]
United Autosports contested the GT Cup Championship in 2014 [60] and won the overall and GTO Championship with Jim Geddie in his McLaren MP4-12C GT3. [61] They also continued with their Audi R8 LMS ultra in the British GT Championship. [62]
The team returned to the GT Cup Championship in 2015 with the Audi R8 LMS ultra and driver Phil Burgan. [63] They also put plans in place to move into prototype racing with two LMP3 cars in the European Le Mans Series. [64]
United Autosports made the team's début in the European Le Mans Series at Silverstone in April with a pair of Ligier JS P3 sports cars and drivers Alex Brundle, Mike Guasch, [65] Christian England, Mark Patterson, Wayne Boyd [66] and Matt Bell. The team won the first three races and scored eight podiums throughout the year, winning both the team and driver championships with one round remaining. [67] The team also entered the inaugural Road to Le Mans race – one of the support races to the Le Mans 24 Hours – with former F1 driver Martin Brundle pairing up with Christian England. [68] Brundle took pole position. [69] American duo Guy Cosmo and Mike Hedlund were behind the wheel of the second Ligier, [70] with Guy Cosmo scoring the fastest lap of the race and setting the LMP3 lap record round the Circuit de la Sarthe .
United Autosports made the team's first appearance in LMP2 by entering a Ligier JS P217 in the 2017 European Le Mans Series. [71] Filipe Albuquerque, Will Owen and Hugo de Sadeleer scored two race wins [72] – three podiums in total - to finish runners-up in the championship standings. [73] In June, the trio also combined to make United Autosport's Le Mans 24 Hours début, finishing fourth in the LMP2 class (fifth overall). [74] The team also returned with their two Ligier JS P3 sports prototypes and defended its LMP3 ELMS title, courtesy of John Falb and Sean Rayhall (USA). [75] [76]
The UK-based team also entered Ligier LMP3 cars in the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
Through a 25% shareholding in Walkinshaw Andretti United, United Autoports entered the 2018 Supercars Championship. [77] [78] The team is co-owned by Ryan Walkinshaw, son of Tom Walkinshaw of Tom Walkinshaw Racing and Michael Andretti's operation Andretti Autosport.
The team signed Formula 1 driver and two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, [79] 2018 McLaren F1 test and reserve driver Lando Norris [80] and ex-F1 and former DTM champion Paul Di Resta [81] for the 2018 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Di Resta, together with Hugo De Sadeleer, Will Owen and Bruno Senna, finished fourth overall. [82]
Hugo de Sadeleer, Will Owen and Juan Pablo Montoya [83] finished in third place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in their Ligier JS P217 [84] . In the ELMS, United Autosports came fourth (LMP2) [85] and third (LMP3) [86] in the final Team's standings. The Anglo-American team made its début in the 2018–19 Asian Le Mans Series, winning the title with Phil Hanson (racing driver) and Paul Di Resta and claiming second in LMP3. [87]
United finished fourth in both LMP2 [88] and LMP3 [89] in the European Le Mans Series Teams Championship.
The team contested the FIA World Endurance Championship for the first time, with an Oreca 07, Phil Hanson (racing driver), Filipe Albuquerque and Paul Di Resta. [90] They finished on the podium in Japan and China and won the LMP2 class for the first time in Bahrain [91]
United Autosports won at CoTA in February [92] and took the lead of the WEC LMP2 Championship but racing was then suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19 pandemic). The series resumed in August at Spa, where Hanson, Albuquerque and di Resta won. United Autosports then won the delayed Le Mans 24 Hours in September [93] and took the LMP2 Championship with one race to go. [94] United Autosports also won the European Le Mans Series Championship. Phil and Filipe became the first drivers to win the WEC, 24 Hours of Le Mans and ELMS championships in a single season [95] and United became the first team to win the FIA World Endurance Championship (LMP2), European Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours (LMP2) all in the same year. United Autosports also won the ELMS LMP3 Championship for the third time in five years with three wins, a third place podium and four poles. [96]
In July 2020 United announced its entry into the Extreme E series with Andretti Autosport, creating Andretti United Extreme E. [97] .
United Autosports announced it would enter the GT4 European Series in 2021 with two McLaren 570S GT4 cars.
In September 2020, it was announced that the team purchased all of the defunct Strakka Racing team's assets, which included all of their race team equipment, race cars, trucks and their race team premises close to Silverstone circuit, for an undisclosed sum. [98]
In 2021, United Autosports took 36 podium finishes including 12 victories.
The team competed in the GT4 Euro Series for the first time, winning the Silver Teams’ title. Bailey Voisin and Charlie Fagg claimed the Silver Driver's Award with Gus Bowers and Dean Macdonald taking fifth place. [99]
In the European Le Mans Series LMP2 category, Phil Hanson, Tom Gamble and Jonathan Aberdein won the final race of the season at Portimão, taking second-place in the final Driver's standings. [100] In the European Le Mans Series LMP3 category, Edouard Cauhaupe, Wayne Boyd and Rob Wheldon finished third overall. [101]
In the FIA World Endurance Championship, Phil Hanson took fourth in the Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers. United Autosports also came fourth in the Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams. [102]
Extreme E was a new programme in 2021, which the team entered in partnership with Andretti as Andretti United Extreme E. Catie Munnings and Timmy Hansen were the drivers in the inaugural year of the eco-conscious championship. They won the 2021 Arctic X-Prix, finished fourth in the Teams’ Championship standings overall, and Munnings and Hansen claimed third in the Driver's Championship. [103]
United Autosports opened the year at the 24 Hours of Daytona, [104] before scoring two wins in the two Asian Le Mans Series Abu Dhabi races courtesy of Scotsman Paul Di Resta and team newcomer Josh Pierson – the American teenager unable to enter the first two races until he became 16-years-old due to regulations. [105]
The team's two-car entry in the FIA World Endurance Championship achieved 10 top-six finishes throughout the season, which included first place in the opening Sebring race. [106] Josh Pierson became the youngest driver to race and to finish a WEC race, going onto take another world record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans later that year as the youngest ever contender. [107]
United Autosports also claimed third place (Phil Hanson, Tom Gamble, Duncan Tappy) in the European Le Mans Series LMP2 Teams Championship after registering four top-four results, including a victory [108] .
United Autosports kicked off the 2023 season at the Asian Le Mans Series, taking second place in the 4 Hours of Abu Dhabi Race 1. [109]
The FIA World Endurance Championship started the first of seven rounds at Sebring International Raceway [110] . This marked the last season that the LMP2 class would compete in the championship. [111] United Autosports' two-car LMP2 entry collectively achieved four pole positions, one victory and four second place podiums. [112] Filipe Albuquerque also won the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Wingfoot Award for the 2023 season. [113]
In the European Le Mans Series, the #22 LMP2 of Oliver Jarvis, Phil Hanson (racing driver) and Marino Sato finished the year as vice-champions, winning an automatic invitation to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. [114] The trio took three wins out of six races, the most of any LMP2 team in the championship. [115]
Highlights from United Autosports' final season in the Le Mans Cup included LMP3 pole position for Josh Caygill in the Aragon Round [116] and victory for John Schauerman and Wayne Boyd at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. [117]
The historics team took a class victory for team bosses Zak Brown and Richard Dean (racing driver) at the Estoril Classics with the 1981 Porsche 935. [118]
In September 2023, United Autosports announced the expansion of its USA racing programme with a new base in Mooresville, North Carolina in anticipation of the team's first full season in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. [119]
In October 2023, United Autosports was announced as the official racing partner of McLaren Automotive for the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, contesting the newly formed LMGT3 class. [10]
United Autosports USA started the season at the 24 Hours of Daytona with guest IndyCar Series drivers Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist. [120] The team took LMP2 pole position for the first time at Daytona with Ben Keating [121] in the special liveried #2 ORECA 07 which was named in the 10 best motorsport liveries in 2024 by Goodwood Road & Racing. [122]
Throughout the rest of the IMSA season, United Autosports took their first IMSA win at Road America, [123] two pole positions and a podium in the 12 Hours of Sebring. [124]
In June, United Autosports won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the second time, taking victory in the LMP2 class with Oliver Jarvis, Nolan Siegel and Bijoy Garg. [7]
In the FIA World Endurance Championship, United Autosports delivered the first LMGT3 podium for McLaren Automotive in São Paulo [125] and the first front row lock out for a manufacturer in the LMGT3 class at the season finale in Bahrain. [126]
Highlights in the European Le Mans Series included pole position and a podium for the #22 LMP2 at the season opener in Barcelona. [127]
In October, Zak Brown teamed up with Tom Kristensen for the Estoril Classics, taking third place in the Porsche 935. [128]
Aside from their modern-day racing activities, United Autosports is also involved in historic racing and preparation of historic racing cars. The team's collection of cars spans many decades and race series and includes the 1991 Senna McLaren MP4/6, 1980 Alan Jones championship-winning Williams FW07 and a 1970 Jackie Stewart March 701. They also maintain and race sports cars such as the 1986 Porsche 962 and the JLP-3 Porsche 935. The team enters many historic events around the world, including the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, [129] the Le Mans Classic, [130] and the annual Silverstone Classic weekend, [131] among others.
* Season still in progress