- ELMS LMP3 fight reignited as team celebrate 40th race in category
- Close LMP3 battle for top three in championship with two races remaining
- Hanson, Gamble and Tappy move to third in LMP2 championship fight
UA ELMS 2021 Spa 285
United Autosports will be making their 40th racing appearance at Spa-Francorchamps in the European Le Mans Series LMP3 class. Making their debut at the Silverstone circuit in 2016 in a Liger JS P3, United Autosports finished first and second, a defiant debut, with a line-up that still sees some of those drivers on the current 2022 grid.
Perhaps an even more impressive feat is that out of the 40 LMP3 race appearances, Wayne Boyd, current United Autosports #23 Le Mans Cup driver, has raced for the team on 31 of these accounts, making his team debut in 2016 at Silverstone. Jim McGuire, who also made his debut with the team in 2016, contributes to 14 of the team’s 40 ELMS LMP3 race appearances and will line up once again in the #3 AERO LMP3 alongside Andrew and Kay this weekend.
Finn Gehrsitz, Bailey Voisin and Josh Caygill, after a difficult weekend in Barcelona, will be looking to maintain the pace and commanding start until the checkered flag and stand on the podium once again this season. The #2 crew currently sit seventh in the championship, but with only 17 points separating them from the top three, the fight is still on.
The last round of the ELMS, at Circuit de Barcelona- Catalunya, saw the #22 crew of Phil Hanson, Tom Gamble and Duncan Tappy move up to third in the LMP2 championship standings, heading into the final two rounds with 48 points. The team look forward to this weekend with confidence as Spa-Francorchamps is a circuit that the team has performed strongly at in the LMP2 Oreca-07’s, with Phil Hanson taking multiple victories in both ELMS and WEC over the years.
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Car 22
Phil Hanson:
“Spa is one of my highlights of the ELMS calendar. It’s my most successful track having won three times in ELMS. Naturally therefore I’m excited for this weekend, let’s see if we can make it four.”
Tom Gamble:
“Really looking forward to Spa, it’s been a bit of a difficult season so far so I’m excited to try and turn things around and end the season on a high. We’ve always had a quick car at Spa so I’m confident we have the tools to get the job done!”
Duncan Tappy:
“Spa is always a special circuit to return to. You can’t not love it as a driver. United have historically been very competitive there so I’m really looking forward to see what we can do over the weekend. We’re third in the championship now with a bit of a gap to second and first…so we have nothing to lose!”
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Car 2
Finn Gehrsitz:
“Spa is a circuit I have great memories at as I was on pole for the Le Mans Cup team I was racing with last year. It’s such a technical track with some really fast and slow corner combinations. We had a good test here at the start of the season and I’m confident that we have a good chance of doing well here.”
Bailey Voisin:
“Excited to be heading back to Spa, some lovely memories there from last year and I’m looking forward to getting out in the car on Wednesday. It’s a tough track but does produce some fantastic racing. We have everything we need to get a strong result so I hope we can make the most of it this weekend.
Josh Caygill:
“Despite the end result at Barcelona, we showed really strong pace at the start of the race and I know that we will fight hard to come away successful this weekend.”
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Car 3
Jim McGuire:
“I can’t wait to get back in the race car after a couple of tough races that led to us retiring. I’m looking forward to getting back on track at Spa with Andrew, Kay and the United #3 crew and seeing what we can do.”
Kay van Berlo:
“I am very excited to get back to racing after a couple of disappointing races. We have been really quick at the last few weekends, and we have a really good race car that I am sure we will be able to utilise and get ourselves back in the fight. Spa has always been a favourite circuit of mine and it’s always a special weekend.”
Andrew Bentley:
“We were so unlucky at the last round, but with the disappointment of Barcelona behind us we are all keen to get back on track and make the most of the last two rounds. Spa always throws up some excitement and it’s such a legendary track to drive, I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can do. Car 3’s pace has been improving with each race so I know the whole team will be pushing hard to keep that momentum going.”
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Max Gregory, Managing Director:
“With only two rounds remaining we come to Spa, a track that we have had multiple successes at over the years, we are confident that we can push for some podiums in both classes and put pressure on our championship contenders.
It is also a milestone weekend for us as a team as we race our 40th race in the European Le Mans Series. We have won the LMP2 championship once and the LMP3 championship three times in that time frame and that is testament to the hard work all of our staff and drivers have put in over the years.”