- Le Mans 24 Hours acting as round seven of FIA World Endurance Championship
- Two car entry for United Autosports in their fourth Le Mans 24 Hours effort
- Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque and Paul Di Resta leading WEC championship in #22 Oreca 07
- Will Owen, Alex Brundle and Job van Uitert to race #32 Oreca 07
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United Autosports are preparing for the 2020 Le Mans 24 Hours next weekend as the race goes ahead, behind closed doors, three months later than originally planned (19-20 September).
The Le Mans 24 Hours acts as round seven of the 2019/2020 FIA World Endurance Championship, which United Autosports are leading with their #22 Oreca 07 of Phil Hanson, Filipe Albuquerque and Paul Di Resta. The trio have won the last three WEC races in a row, scoring a pole position at two out of the last three events. They have also finished on the podium five times out of six races, giving them a 22-point lead in the LMP2 championship.
The #32 crew consists of Alex Brundle, Will Owen and Job van Uitert, who won the opening round of the ELMS season at Paul Ricard in July. They currently lie second in the ELMS championship.
This year, the Le Mans 24 Hours event has been significantly condensed due to the current global health crisis. Usually held over a three week period, there is now no official test day, scrutineering in the town centre or driver parade. The ACO have however introduced a new qualifying format called Hyperpole, where the top six in each class after the qualifying session on Thursday afternoon go on to a further qualifying shootout on Friday morning.
The race can be watched on Eurosport and Motorsport TV, or via the FIA WEC app. The full race will be live on Eurosport Player, while BT Sport will show highlights. Live timing can be found on the Le Mans website: https://www.lemans.org/fr/24-heures-du-mans/live-timing
United Autosports Le Mans 24 Hours Key Facts
- United Autosports made their Le Mans 24 Hours debut in 2017, finishing a fantastic fourth in class and fifth overall.
- In 2018, United Autosports finished on the podium for the first time, with Will Owen, Hugo de Sadeleer and Juan Pablo Montoya.
- Last year, United Autosports finished fourth.
Weekend timetable – Le Mans 24 Hours
Thursday 17th September
10:00-13:00 LM24 FP1
14:00-17:00 LM24 FP2
17:15-18:00 LM24 Qualifying
20:00-00:00 LM24 FP3
Friday 18th September
10:00-11:00 LM24 FP4
11:30-12:00 LM24 Hyperpole
Saturday 19th September
10:30-10:45 LM24 Warm Up
14:30 Race start
Sunday 20th September
14:30 End of the race
*all times are local (UK +1hr)
Zak Brown, Team Owner and Chairman, United Autosports:
“Le Mans is the event I look forward to the most as a team owner. Of course, this year is going to be very different and it will be strange experiencing such an iconic race without the fans. I’m hoping for some good results this year from both our cars – we are leading the WEC with the #22 and both cars have performed well in the ELMS so there’s no reason why that shouldn’t continue for Le Mans.”
Richard Dean, Team Owner and Managing Director, United Autosports:
“I’m so glad this race can go ahead this year as it would have been a huge shame to have missed one of the biggest races in the world. The ACO have done a good job putting procedures in place to make sure all the competitors are as safe as they can be, but it will be very strange without the fans. The grid walks, scrutineering in the town centre and the driver parade on the Friday afternoon are all big parts of the Le Mans 24 Hours experience so without those elements, it will feel odd. However, we will all be focussing on the racing and getting the best result we can. We are leading the World Championship and our aim is to leave Le Mans still with that lead in tact going into the final round at Bahrain. With double points on offer it would be a big one to miss out on so we have to continue to do what we have been doing in the last few races.”