Paul Ricard Jaguar XJR-9 Group C
This weekend in the south of France, Zak Brown and Richard Dean teamed up for the Kennol Historic French Grand Prix. The United Autosports co-founders raced iconic, historic cars from Zak’s personal collection - the Williams FW07B (MRL F1) and the Jaguar XJR-9 (Group C) - and claimed two second place podiums at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Sadly, the Williams FW07B sustained a mechanical failure during practice on Friday, forcing the team to withdraw from the F1 Racing Legends – pre 85 class. However, it was a strong start for the Jaguar XJR-9, which secured P4 in both Qualifying Session 1 and 2.
With the weather on side for Race 1 on Saturday, Zak kicked off proceedings, putting down consistently strong laps throughout his stint within two tenths of his 2:06.7 best lap time. Richard Dean followed suit, racing the Jaguar to its first podium of the weekend, taking the checkered flag in P2.
On Sunday, Zak, Richard and the XJR-9 returned for Race 2 in the Group C class … with showers making for trickier conditions. Zak started on the front row in P2, dropping one place on the opening lap – however, following a driver change to Richard Dean, the Jaguar was able to reclaim second position, wrapping up the weekend with another second place finish and back-to-back podiums.
The next event on the historic racing calendar is the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion in California on the 13-16th August 2025. Stay up to date with the team in the meantime on social media @unitedautosports.
PaulRicard Sunday JaguarXJR9 Awards 008
Zak Brown: “Mega weekend at Paul Ricard this weekend for the Masters French Historic Grand Prix. We had an awesome time driving the Jaguar XJR-9 and took a couple of podiums along the way. I felt great in the car, the best so far, and even better with my friend and co-driver Richard back racing with me. Looking forward to the next one!”
Richard Dean: “I thoroughly enjoyed driving with Zak this weekend, it was great to be back behind the wheel – and even better getting a P2 podium two days in a row. It was a shame that the Williams FW07B had to withdraw so soon, as Zak was showing great pace, and has previously celebrated a podium in this car. However, we were able to put our full focus on the Jaguar and ended up with two great results and a great weekend in the end.”
United Autosports Historics