United Autosports at the 4 Hours of Portimao
The #21 Pro/Am car had a solid start in the sixth and final race of the season, with Daniel Schneider starting P5, pitting early under the Virtual Safety Car for fuel, working back up through the pack and fuel saving to the stop, giving the #21 a strong advantage at the first driver change. Andy Meyrick took over but was caught up in contact, forcing the car into the garage for repairs to the rear right corner. Ten minutes later, the #21 was back on track - but not for long. Contact sent Oliver Jarvis spinning into the gravel, leading to an early retirement for the Pro/Am crew who finish the season P6 in the championship.
The #22 ORECA 07 also had a strong start from P5 on the grid with Filip Ugran driving an excellent opening stint, backed by a cohesive team strategy. Ugran was leading the race within the first hour, handing over to Marino Sato in P1 who continued pushing hard. Things took a turn, however, when the Japanese driver had to serve a drive-through penalty for contact during Ugran’s earlier stint. The penalty was issued straight after a Safety Car, which dropped the #22 to the back of the pack, compounded by another penalty for track limits. Ben Hanley took over, working hard to recover lost time with strong pace, but the Brit sustained damage while avoiding a spinning car, forcing an unscheduled pit stop for new left tyres, which also highlighted significant damage to the left hand side of the car - ultimately finishing P10.
The #23 ORECA 07 had a tough start to the weekend, lining up P13 on the grid. Bijoy Garg took the first stint, avoiding early drama and gaining up to P8. Fabio Scherer kept it clean, passing the car to Paul Di Resta in P6 who gained up to P3, before a final fuel splash sealed the result at P6.
That’s a wrap for the 2024 European Le Mans Series – but there’s one race left in the United Autosports calendar, as the McLaren LMGT3 duo head to Bahrain for the finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Stay up to date with the team on social @unitedautosports.
#21 Crew - Oliver Jarvis, Daniel Schneider and Andy Meyrick
#21 LMP2 Pro/Am
QUALI P5 | RACE DNF | CHAMP P6
Daniel Schneider: “Not the result that we were expecting, but that aside I enjoyed myself. I’ve learned so much this year – even in this race – I was happy with my performance and happy with the car. Unfortunately, we had bad luck this race, two accidents that weren’t our fault – just race accidents that were unavoidable. When you make mistakes in the race, you can learn from them but when it’s incidents that aren’t caused by you, it’s hard to take. It was a painful way to finish the season, but I enjoyed it and I hope that everyone enjoyed it as well.”
Andy Meyrick: “Obviously, a really disappointing race and a very sad end to the season with a retired car. It shouldn’t overshadow what an enjoyable and competitive season it has been, but an unfortunate early finish isn’t how we imagined the season ending. Thanks to the team for their hard work this season, very disappointed our season ended that way.”
Oliver Jarvis: “A really disappointing end to an already tough race. Unfortunately, we had contact early on, which put us 10 laps down - I tried to pass a car in the last corner, I thought they knew I was there - they ended up clipping my right rear, but that’s on me. Unfortunately, that ended our race but it’s a shame - I think we actually had a good race car, but from the initial contact we were out of the race.”
#22 Crew - Marino Sato, Filip Ugran and Ben Hanley
#22 LMP2
QUALI P5 | RACE P10 | CHAMP P10
Filip Ugran: “I think our strategy was a really good one, but unfortunately, we had contact. In my opinion, I think the penalty we got was very unfair – we finished where we finished but I think the pace of the car was strong and we could have fought for P1 to end the season on a high. I’m very happy with everything throughout this season, I can’t say that about the result but with the team and everything else - I’m looking forward to the future.”
Marino Sato: “Very difficult to say, Filip drove a very strong stint. We led the restart. Everything after the restart was, I would say, was close to perfect to build the gap … and then that got taken away by the drive through penalty. After that, we basically lost the race so I went all in, I was pushing really hard, we showed some strong pace but I also made some silly mistakes that cost us maybe two or three places – so I apologise to the team for that. Hopefully we come back stronger together – I still have Bahrain with the team so I’m hoping to get better luck there.”
Ben Hanley: “Difficult race for us, we were in a good position and then we got a drive through penalty for contact which, not only was it a bit harsh due to inconsistencies … others have got five seconds or ten seconds on a stop, but for some reason we got a drive through for a similar incident – but, it was also really late and just after a safety car. So, instead of losing ten seconds and a few places it just put us to the back of the grid. Towards the end of the race, the safety car bunched everyone up and there was a lot of desperate driving out there – lots of crashing and hitting and unfortunately, we were one of the ones that got caught up in that, so if our race wasn’t ended before, it certainly was after that.”
23 Crew - Bijoy Garg, Fabio Scherer and Paul Di Resta
#23 LMP2
QUALI P13| RACE P6 | CHAMP P11
Bijoy Garg: “Another really hard weekend here in Portimao. We had a decent recovery in the race, we made the strategy work and in the end there’s not a lot more we could have done. Difficult year, plenty to reflect on and plenty to look at for 2025.”
Fabio Scherer: “Pretty good race, I’m happy with my driving. I think we did well … with a bit more luck we probably could have made the podium today. This is not how I imagined we would finish the last race … not on the podium … but it was still a solid race and the last two races have been solid so I’m happy with that.”
Paul Di Resta: “We picked up a bit of damage mid-race and had to change the nose which set us back a bit. But we had a good fight in our hands, we were in a really strong position. It came down to a splash at the end which would’ve given us a position or two. The driving standards out there were very poor – I had somebody in my way that was a lap down that interfered with our race at the end, which maybe would have got us on the podium – but all in all I think we can be satisfied with where we were.”
MANAGEMENT
Max Gregory, MD: “A disappointing end to a tough season. This kind of race is difficult to take when we had great pace with all three cars and the package required to win. As was the case at a number of races this year. That aside, what has been remarkable is the collective effort of our brilliant crew and the group of fantastic drivers that we have had this season. It really has been an absolute pleasure to work with them all. Thanks to everyone on the United Autosports team, our partners and supporters. We will be working hard over the winter and look forward to being back next season.”