United Autosports USA at Sahlen
The United Autosports USA duo finished fifth (#2) and eighth (#22) in a chaotic edition of Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen which included numerous crashes, Full Course Yellows, dramatic downpours … and a red flag with less than 90 minutes to go, which lead to a 16-minute dash to the finish.
The #2 ORECA 07 started P5 in the hands of Ben Keating, moving up to P4 within the first half hour. Nico Pino and Ben Hanley shared driving duties through the middle stages as rain clouds started to roll in and eyes focussed on tyre strategy.
At the halfway mark, Hanley took the lead before diving into the box for slicks … with the red flag coming into force shortly after. When racing resumed, Hanley was battling at the front when he was entangled in an attempted overtake between other LMP2 competitors which resulted in an unwarranted hit to the rear, a spin and a trip to the box for a new tail. With no time to recover, the #2 crossed the line an unrepresentative P9 - gaining an extra position post-race to finish P8.
For the #22 crew, it was another strong Qualifying session for Daniel Goldburg who put the ORECA 07 in second place once again. Daniel took the start in the 56-strong field, handing over to 2024 Le Mans race winner Bijoy Garg who successfully avoided trouble through the changeable wet and dry conditions.
Then it was over to Paul di Resta, who was fighting at the front in P3 before the red flag came into force. With the podium in sight, racing resumed – however, tight space in the pitlane resulted in a longer-than-planned stop, dropping the #22 back. With just minutes left on the clock, however, di Resta claimed back two positions, taking the #22 to sixth place at the checkered flag before being promoted to the top-five.
The fourth round of the WeatherTech IMSA SportsCar Championship will take the team north to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on Sunday 14th July 2024 – while, on the same weekend, the FIA World Endurance Championship is in Brazil for the 6 Hours of Sao Paolo. Stay up to date with all the latest on social @unitedautosports.
Ben Keating, Ben Hanley and Nico Pino - United Autosports racing drivers
#2 ORECA 07
QUALI P5 | RACE P8 | CHAMP P9
Ben Keating: “All the drivers in the #2 car did a great job today. The result is not reflective of how we performed. IMSA likes a little bumping and rubbing, and unfortunately this ruined our race right there at the end.”
Ben Hanley: “Where do you start with that one. A really frustrating race … again. We manoeuvred ourselves into some great positions at the front of the field but, with all the yellows, it got tight and messed up. I think race control made some mistakes on that last restart with the order of the field which created a back-up because people were out of position. And then the person in front of me went for a move that wasn’t on. He span, I had nowhere to go … but I managed to avoid it. Then I got hit by the car behind. Sebring was a similar story, where we were in contention for a podium and, through no fault of our own, ended up in a bit of a mess. It is frustrating because the team and all the drivers … we deserve more.”
Nico Pino: “Not the best race for us. I struggled a bit in my first stint, but in the second stint we had a really strong car. We were in a good position but then we got unlucky and we got hit, spun and had to change the rear. That put us behind. Overall, we had really good pace. There are still some things we can work on. But it was a good step forward again for us as a team.”
Daniel Goldburg, Bijoy Garg and Paul di Resta - United Autosports racing driver
#22 ORECA 07
QUALI P2 | RACE P5 | CHAMP P4
Daniel Goldburg: “Oof, that race threw everything at us. I had a super strong first hour and then I lost some ground in traffic in my last 30 minutes. Bijoy drove well. Paul ripped it at the end passing 2 cars in, I think, 2 laps. We had some issues in the pits and got unlucky changing to slicks right before a downpour ... so yeah ... there was a lot going on. But all in all, we ended up 5th and with the teams that didn't finish I believe it will be a pretty good result for us in the points standings. We learn from our mistakes and make sure we don't do them again! And we push on!”
Bijoy Garg: “We were racing in very challenging conditions. It felt a bit like Le Mans actually with all the on and off rain! We had strong pace, especially in the second stint, but we had a few issues too. In the end, P5 isn’t a bad result for the championship. Obviously we want to be fighting for wins and podiums … that was our goal at the beginning of the season … but ultimately moments like these will make us appreciate the wins even more.”
Paul di Resta: “This weekend, we were looking to build on the progress we made at Sebring and secure another strong result for the team – but unfortunately, it didn’t go that way. The weather was tricky to manage, we spent a lot of time under Full Course Yellow or Red Flag … it was all a bit chaotic. I managed to get a few overtakes in at the end though, so we crossed the line in fifth. I wish Daniel and the team the best of luck in Mosport. I’ll be back at Road America.”
CEO
Richard Dean: “After the high of Le Mans, Watkins Glen has brought us straight back down to earth. It was a difficult one. We navigated the weather and stayed out of trouble … until the final 15 minutes when Hanley was sent spinning and Paul had an elongated pit stop. Without those incidents, I think the result would have been very different. It has been an extremely demanding month for the United Autosports crew – I can’t thank everybody enough. A result would have been a fantastic end, but for now I hope everyone enjoys some well-deserved rest before we come back fighting at Mosport.”