DRAMA-FILLED SEASON OPENER FOR MICHELIN LE MANS CUP DUO IN BARCELONA
United Autosports MICHELIN LE MANS Cup 2023
United Autosports navigated lap one crashes, safety cars, red flags and more to safely bring home the LMP3 duo in the opening round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup (MLMC).
The MLMC is the support series to the European Le Mans Series, taking endurance driver teams - one amateur racer and one pro – to tracks across Europe in a six-race season that runs from April to October. Each round follows the same format with 42 cars on the grid (30 LMP3s and 12 GT3s) and 110 minutes on the clock, plus a double header special in the iconic setting of Le Mans.
Today, the #23 Ligier JS P320 of John Schauerman and Wayne Boyd crossed the line in P16, making up eight places from their starting position of P24.
The #22 Ligier JS P320 of Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews also made up places, after a post-Qualifying penalty pushed them to the back of the Barcelona grid. From a tricky start in P29 (in class), the American-Australian duo finished P24.
The next race on the MLMC calendar is the Road To Le Mans at the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe in the lead-up to the infamous 24 hour race. In the meantime, stay up to date with the team on social @unitedautosports.
United Autosports Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews
CAR #22 QUALI P29 (IN CLASS)| RACE P24
Gerry Kraut: “The car snap oversteered under braking in Qualifying so I caused a red flag, lost my times and had to start at the back. That destroyed the race tyres and, because of the rules, Scott had to take the start so when he handed the car over to me, they were on their second stint. I ran with the pros, kept the car on the track but it was a challenging experience with those tyres.”
Scott Andrews: “I would call this a character-building day … you just have to take the positives out of the weekend. We obviously had a fast car - we were pretty much quickest every time we were on track this week. I want to thank the boys and girls at United Autosports for preparing us such a great car and continuing to make it faster as the week went on. The rules meant I had to start the race, which really compromised our strategy. But we’ve learnt things, so now we pick ourselves up and go to Le Mans …”
United Autosports John Schauerman and Wayne Boyd
CAR #23 QUALI P24 | RACE P16
John Schauerman: “My start was good – it was the best part of my race today. My pace was a little off, maybe a second off where I really needed to be. But we were under Safety Car for so long that I only really had eight or ten racing laps. Anyway, I kept it clean and didn’t make any big mistakes. We tried really hard on our strategy … but we needed an FCY and it didn’t happen. Wayne was great, obviously – he was the fastest car out there for the longest time. My focus is giving him the car with the chance to get some points!”
Wayne Boyd: “Lots of positives … and obviously some negatives to take from that race. Our negative was a disappointing Qualifying and whenever you start down the grid, it always makes the race so much more difficult. But to get from P24 to P16 isn’t too bad at all. John did a fantastic start with his stint to get through the pack. We fell unlucky with the last safety car. But the main positive for me is that the car is unreal, so we’ve got a lot to look forward to over the rest of the year with the amount of pace we have.”
TEAM MANAGER
Charlie Kemp: “It’s great to have two returning driver duos in our Michelin Le Mans Cup team, with John and Wayne in the #23 Ligier racing their fourth consecutive season, and Gerry and Scott back in the #22 for their second season. We’ve had a really encouraging start in Barcelona, with strong pace on track during the Prologue and Free Practice sessions for both cars. It’s not the result we wanted today, but we’ll take the learnings and get ready for the Road To Le Mans.”
