- Fantastic start by John Schauerman in #23 Ligier JS P320
- Brilliant qualifying for Daniel Schneider in #32 Ligier
- Fourth place in championship for Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews in #22 Ligier
Spa MLMC Race Report Image
United Autosports had a difficult race at Spa for the penultimate round of the Michelin Le Mans Cup today.
The #23 Ligier JS P320 of John Schauerman and Wayne Boyd finished in 10th place, which did not reflect their true pace during the two-hour race in Belgium today. After a difficult qualifying for John, he started the race in 18th place, but made up five places at the start, gradually climbing to ninth place before handing over to Wayne Boyd. After a fantastic battle through the field for John, a badly timed FCY period caught the pair out meaning they could not move further up the grid than 10th place once Wayne got on board.
Daniel Schneider had a brilliant qualifying session, starting the #32 Ligier in 11th place. Unfortunately, he got pushed wide at the first corner and was hit by another car, dropping him down the order. After a good battle back, he handed the car over to Andy Meyrick, only for him to be hit from behind and punted into the gravel, ending the race for the pair on the spot.
Gerry Kraut and Scott Andrews also had a tricky race. Starting the #22 from 22nd on the grid, Gerry made a good start and kept out of trouble to hand the car over to Scott Andrews, who brought the car home in 14thplace.
The #22 now lies fourth in the championship with the #23 one point back in fifth heading into the final round at Portimao, Portugal next month.
John Schauerman:
“The race was fun. My mistake in qualifying hurt us putting us back in 18th. The start was good. I avoided the trouble and picked up a few places. I was behind some guys who I was a little better than in some places of the track so I could get past them. It was really fun, but really hard. We didn’t have an FCY period until near the pit window so 50 minutes for the genuine bronze drivers is tough. Kudos to Wayne, he did a great job as always. Overall, another great experience at Spa. Thanks to United, the car was perfect as always.”
Wayne Boyd:
“We had a good strong race pace wise, but we were just unlucky with the FCY in the middle. John did an absolutely fantastic first stint to get from 18th to ninth and to be battling in the top 10 is amazing. We could have got a lot further up if the FCY didn’t hurt us so much. I think from where we qualified to where we finished was a good job by the whole team, the boys at United did us proud once again.”
Gerry Kraut:
“I love Spa and we have had a good weekend here even if the result is a bit disappointing. Looking forward to Portimao next.”
Scott Andrews:
“We had a difficult race. I suffered a lot with the tyres towards the end of my stint. Gerry had a difficult qualifying too, so we were further back than we wanted to be. The car wasn’t too bad either but it was a tough race.”
Daniel Schneider:
“I did what I thought was a good start, I kept in my lane, but then I was squeezed and hit and I got a penalty. But I have had a good weekend at Spa. It’s always good to race here and I had a good qualifying. The car was great too. I’m disappointed with how the race ended too. I thought we were on for a good race but it wasn’t to be.”
Andy Meyrick:
“Obviously an incredibly disappointing finish to the race to be taken out by another car. It’s frustrating but there’s nothing we can do about it now. We just have to concentrate on finishing the season strong in Portugal.”
Zak Brown:
“A disappointing race today for the Le Mans Cup team. It looked like John and Wayne were in for a good result after John’s great start. Onto the next one in Portimao.”
Richard Dean:
“We’ve had a really good season in the Michelin Le Mans Cup so far this year, so it’s a shame when we are disappointed with a top-10 finish. But still, the positives to take are definitely the pace that was shown by all three crews this weekend. We will aim to finish on a high in Portugal.”