- First place in silver class team championship after round two
- Third place for Bailey Voisin and Charlie Fagg in race one
- Disappointment for Gus Bowers and Dean Macdonald in opening race of the weekend
PR Race 1 Podium
United Autosports GT4 team experienced a varied weekend at Paul Ricard, in the second round of GT4 European Series.
In race one, Bailey Voisin had an amazing start in the #23 McLaren 570S and moved easily through the pack to make up 11 places within the first six laps to sit in P4. Charlie Fagg took over and moved brilliantly up to P3, defending against the Chevrolet until the chequered flag. A third podium for the #23 crew after two rounds, with the team retaining their championship lead.
Unfortunately, car 32 struggled at the start of race one and Gus Bowers was left to try and hold track position amongst a busy midfield. Contact early in the race meant that after the driver change, Dean Macdonald was unable to push and challenge the cars ahead. A components failure left the #32 crossing the line in P31, an out of place finish after promising pace.
The #23 crew started race two on the front row of the grid after a great qualifying session by Charlie on Saturday, missing out on pole by only 0.036s. Dean started the #32 in P9 after a late grid penalty was handed out to a competitor, bumping them up one spot. Despite a decent start for both cars, the race proved difficult in maximising the pace of both McLarens. At the end of the race, the #23 finished P6 overall and P4 in silver class, while car #32 finished just behind in P8 overall.
Overall, a decent weekend for the team with points awarded in each race, resulting in the team maintaining first in the silver class championship. The team now turn their focus to round three, which takes place in Zandvoort on 18-20 June.
Car 23
Bailey Voisin:
“Looking at the weekend as a whole I think there are several positives to take away from it. We managed to get a podium in race one and add some more championship points for the team. A slightly trickier second race, where we just didn’t seem to have the pace to challenge the cars at the front.”
Charlie Fagg:
“Overall, it was a solid weekend. It’s not quite the track for the McLaren but we still had a good weekend, finishing third in the first race and getting more points for the championship. The car felt great and hopefully we can bounce back at round three in Zandvoort.
Car 32
Gus Bowers:
“For me, it was quite a frustrating weekend. A few mistakes on my behalf and not feeling comfortable in the car meant we were always on the back foot heading into every session. However, the team did an excellent job to get the car back together after the first race issue. We managed to get some points on the board in race two for the championship which is a positive and hopefully we can come back stronger in Zandvoort.”
Dean Macdonald:
“It was a decent second race from us. Starting P9 and moving up a grid place before the race began due to a late grid penalty was a good start. I managed to get the car into P6 which felt good and the team did a good job. We should be happy with the championship points we got this weekend and can look towards Zandvoort now.”
Charlie Kemp, GT4 Team Manager
“It’s been a very tricky weekend but all drivers have dug deep to achieve the positions we did. Balance of performance was not on our side but we’re looking forward to Zandvoort to get back to our winning ways of Monza.”