United duo at Motorsport
Today, the first sprint race of the IMSA season took place at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Ontario, Canada. The United Autosports LMP2 duo finished fourth (#2) and fifth (#22) in the Chevrolet Grand Prix with the two-car, two-driver LMP2 teams pushing hard to the finish.
The #22 ORECA 07 started the race in P2, courtesy of Daniel Goldburg who secured a front row start in qualifying for the third time this season. After a clean start, the #22 car sat comfortably at the front for the first 30 minutes, before the first FCY was called.
With just two hours and 40 minutes on the clock, the field was pushing from the off – however, a second FCY halted the race for the second time in the opening hour, with the #22 running P4.
Just before the halfway mark, Filipe Albuquerque took over from Sebring 12 Hours podium placer Goldburg, running P5 amongst traffic after the two-hour mark. With just 15 minutes left on the clock, another FCY was thrown into the mix – resulting in the #22 ORECA 07 taking P5 at the checkered flag.
For the #2 crew, the early FCY and a drive through penalty kept Ben Keating in his P7 qualifying position - originally P8, before a post qualifying ruling - in the opening hour. Keating upgraded the ORECA 07 to P4 before handing over to Ben Hanley.
A slick pitstop rocketed Hanley into the top three, which he maintained without issue into the second hour – before the final FCY was called, shaking up the grid and placing Hanley P4 at the finish.
The fifth round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will take the team to Road America, Wisconsin on Sunday 4th August 2024. Stay up to date with all the latest on social @unitedautosports.
Daniel Goldburg and Filipe Albuquerque
#22 ORECA 07
QUALI P2 | RACE P5 | CHAMP P4
Daniel Goldburg: “Today just wasn't our day. I was pumped to qualify P2 for the third time, and with lmp2 the top class it was fun to be on the front row. I had a pretty good stint, loosing a bit of ground to the Inter car but holding my own. Unfortunately two cars has contact in front of me toward the end of my time in the car and I had to run very wide in T2 to avoid them, loosing 3 positions. I had a great time racing with Filipe. We take home some solid points and we keep fighting!”
Filipe Albuquerque: “Dan did a great job qualifying our car in P2 and then at the beginning of the race too. For me, it was a bit of following the train – I was a bit unlucky getting caught in traffic at times. I think a podium would have been achievable with our pace, but it just didn’t go our way unfortunately. We can look at what we can improve, yes ... but I think traffic was our biggest factor for this race. Onto the next one!”
Ben Keating and Ben Hanley
#2 ORECA 07
QUALI P7 | RACE P4 | CHAMP P6
Ben Keating: “Today’s race was a tough one. After not getting a decent qualifying lap in with the red flags during the session, we started 7th, which is a tough spot at this track. We got a bit creative with strategy to get up to P3, but then got conservative towards the end. Without the Safety Car at the end, we would be on podium. But I am happy for both PR1 and Riley for finishing up front, and I am happy with how our team responded to the cards we were dealt.”
Ben Hanley: “It was a very tight race for us … in a sprint, no one is holding back. You have to push it to the limit for the whole race. Today we had the pace. Ben Keating did a great job during his opening stint taking the car from P7 to P4. When I was in, it was mode push. I was able to take the car into the top three but unfortunately, there was an FCY that caused us to drop back to P4 … just missing out on that podium! The next one is Road America, so we look forward to that."
CEO
Richard Dean: “Another frantic IMSA race but this time delivering two decent results. The pace of both cars and all the drivers deserved a podium but a strong fourth and fifth place is a better return this time. I know the team will keep pushing for our first IMSA win!”