+ #23 finishes less than a second off a top-three finish in Race 1
+ Schauerman & Boyd placed fourth in Drivers’ standings
+ Five-car Ligier entry six years after team’s Le Mans debut
UA RTLM 2022 280
United Autosports secured fourth place in the Road to Le Mans Drivers’ standings today, after two 55-minute races staged on the legendary 8.45 mile La Sarthe Circuit. In Race 1, the team narrowly missed out on its eighth Road to Le Mans podium finish by a mere 0.898secs, battling in a near 50-car grid with 36 in the LMP3 category.
United’s 2022 Michelin Le Man Cup regulars Shaun Lynn/Max Lynn (#2), Andres Latorre/Garnet Patterson (#22), Daniel Schneider/Andy Meyrick (#32) and John Schauerman/Wayne Boyd (#23) were joined in a fifth Ligier JS P320 by Jim McGuire/Guy Smith (#21).
In Race 1, Schauerman/Boyd recorded an excellent fourth with Schneider/Meyrick crossing the line 10th, followed by father and son duo, Shaun and Max Lynn, who finished 25th. The #21’s race ended on the opening lap when 2003 LM24 race winner Smith was taken out by a spinning car while Patterson retired the #22 in the closing stages after multiple contacts.
The second race, staged in front of a large crowd on Saturday, 4 hours before the 24 hour endurance race, had a slow zone approaching mid-distance then a lengthy Safety Car period after the driver change pit-stops, resulting in a two-lap “sprint” when racing resumed. #23 battled for a place inside the top-10 but took the chequered flag 13th – one place ahead of #32. Boyd clocked the second fastest top-speed at over 186mph and the sixth fastest lap time but received a post-race time penalty and was classified 23rd – #32 moving up to 12th in the final results. Patterson set the seventh quickest lap in #22 enroute to 17th, one place ahead of #21. Max Lynn impressively battled #2 inside the top-10 before Shaun found himself engulfed by “pro” drivers when racing resumed.
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#2 Shaun Lynn (GB)/Max Lynn (GB)
Qualified: 31st (ML). Race 1: 25th. Qualified: 17th (SL). Race 2: 24th
Shaun: “I have enjoyed it here at Le Mans, it was a good fun weekend and I have learnt a lot and look forward to next year. Qualifying was good, going three seconds quicker than previously. Race 1 was a baptism of fire early on with crashes and carnage at every corner but I got through unscathed. Then slow zones and yellow flags unfortunately affected pretty much my whole stint. My stint in Race 2 was only two [racing] laps which meant I had all the ‘pro’ drivers behind me which made it a little difficult when the race restarted. Nevertheless it was great fun.”
Max: “This was my first time racing at Le Mans – United’s only Road to Le Mans ‘rookie’ - so it’s been tiring but magical. Quali was always going to be tough for me out with the ‘pros’. Managed to undercut a few cars in Race 1, gaining about five positions, then on the last lap, had a lunge on the IDEC car which was good fun. We went for a different strategy in Race 2 with me taking the start. I dropped some places on the opening lap but then made up 10 positions before handing over to Dad. A top-15 position would have been on the cards if there hadn’t been a Safety Car ... but it was amazing to start at Le Mans on a Saturday, not many people get to say that.”
#21 Jim McGuire (USA)/Guy Smith (GB)
Qualified: 19th (GS). Race: DNF. Qualified: 25th (JM). Race 2: 18th
Jim: “Unfortunately I didn’t get to drive in Race 1 after Guy was taken out. I started Race 2 and it was typical mayhem for the MLMC and Road to Le Mans which we have grown to love! I drove over so much carbon I cannot believe I didn’t get a puncture. I’m pretty happy with the result it was fantastic to have the fans back here. They started arriving on Tuesday and to have them here has been amazing.”
Guy: “It was great to be back at Le Mans. Qualifying is always a lottery at Le Mans with so many cars and I only managed two clear laps while still finding my feet with the LMP3 car. My initial start in Race 1 was good but as I entered the second chicane on the opening lap, a car behind out braked itself and took me out, the damage being too much to continue. Race 2 was very frustrating with just two racing laps but it was good for Jim to get some laps in having missed out in Race 1.”
#22 Andres Latorre (AUS)/Garnet Patterson (AUS)
Qualified: 6th (GP). Race: DNF. Qualified: 24th (AL). Race 2: 17th
Andres: “Arrived on a high after Imola but it’s been a difficult weekend – and now I’m already looking ahead to Monza. It seems that we’ve been on the backfoot since my accident in free practice. I had just one push lap in quali after various stoppages but I spun! I felt vulnerable in both races and wasn’t comfortable, especially in the high-speed corners. We can hopefully bounce back at Monza but the important thing is to learn from this weekend.”
Garnet: “Quali was really good after set-up changes but I was unable to get a clean lap. In Race 1, a shock cover came off which badly affected the car’s top-speed. I had contact on three separate occasions, none my fault, and so I parked the car to save the tyres for the second race. Race 2 was typical Le Mans with very few racing laps - the main thing was to stay out of trouble, but it’s always good to be here.”
#23 John Schauerman (US)/Wayne Boyd (GB)
Qualified: 5th (WB). Race: 4th. Qualified: 12th (JS). Race 2: 23rd
John: “It’s been a really fun and enjoyable weekend. Had yellow and red flags in quali leaving me with just one flying lap at the end. My start in Race 1 was okay but I lost four places after a slow zone cleared when I was getting back up to speed from the regulation 80kph and the guys behind me were already back at full speed. Race 2 was the first time I’ve ever had at least four or five clean laps without yellow zones at Le Mans! It looked like points were possible again but we just missed it – it was very close until the post-race penalty.”
Wayne: “Overall it been a good weekend until the penalty in Race 2. I was a little disappointed with my quali but then very happy with Race 1. John did a cracking job, stayed out of trouble after a good start, and handed the car over to me in a good position despite some bad luck as a slow zone cleared which probably cost us a podium finish. Race 2 was disappointing after John had done well in his stint as the Safety Car hampered my progress but then we dropped 10 places in the final classification when we picked up a penalty. So now we move onto Monza.”
#32 Daniel Schneider (BRA)/Andy Meyrick (GB)
Qualified: 20th (AM) TIME. Race: 10th. Qualified: 8th (DS). Race 2: 12th
Daniel: “I was overconfident in quali, pushed too hard and spun. In Race 1, I attempted to go around a bunch of cars but they drifted towards me unfortunately. I had to stop the car, drive around the gravel and come back on to the track. I lost maybe seven places but I recovered some positions before handing over to Andy. Race 2 was also disappointing with a couple of wrong calls on my part. However, I had some good laps and come away with more experience at Le Mans – so that’s a positive.”
Andy: “Qualifying and both races were quite similar, mainly disruptive due to slow zones and a Safety Car in Race 2. Races here are always difficult with the nature of the circuit and we just had bad luck. We showed decent pace throughout the weekend but we will now look forward to Monza. There will always be carnage but Daniel did a really good job to avoid problems and in Race 1 we were both happy with P10.”