- #23 lies seventh with #22 one point off top 10 in standings
- #32 & #2 record best race results of season in seventh & 15th
- #23 just misses out on top-10 finish after great recovery
Monza MLMC Race Report Image
United Autosports will head to the penultimate Michelin Le Mans Cup race of the season at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium in two months’ time (24 Sep) in contention for a top-three placing in the Teams’ Championship.
#23 Ligier (John Schauerman/Wayne Boyd) lies seventh with #22 (Andres Latorre/Garnet Patterson) 12th. #32 and #2 lie 15th and 25th respectively after five races – the latest having taken place at Monza today (2 Jul).
United’s four-car Ligier entry began the 110-minute race, staged in searing heat, aiming to repeat last year’s triumph at the historic Italian venue. It was incident-filled from start to finish with multiple Safety Car and Full Course Yellow periods.
#22 made up multiple positions in the opening laps but ended its race at Turn 1 after 12mins. Latorre locked up after the car ahead appeared to brake early and spun before contact while #23 (Schauerman) spun out of a strong seventh following a touch. He resumed at the back of the field with 25mins gone while #32 (Schneider) ran inside the top-10 and #2 lay in the top-20, Andrew Haddon, deputising for Shaun Lynn, enjoying his maiden LMP3 race on his UA debut.
#32 and #23 ran 10th and 19th prior to pitting after 53mins under FCY with #32 (Meyrick), #2 running slightly longer before stopping for Lynn, and #23 (Boyd), seventh, 14th and 19th respectively when racing resumed with 47mins to go.
Fifth-placed #32 served a late drive-through penalty for an earlier contact, dropping to P7 but still #32’s best result of the season, while a string of outright fastest race laps by Boyd –
Wayne ending up with the second fastest of the race – brought #23 to within less than four-seconds of a top-10 finish in P11 after a remarkable recovery. Meanwhile #2 also recorded its best result of 2022 with a fine P15.
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#2 Max Lynn (GB)/Andrew Haddon (GB)
Qualified: 23rd (AH). Race: 15th
Max: “The race went well for Andrew and I which earned our car its best result of the year. Andrew did well to avoid the carnage in the opening laps. It was very tough in the car due to the heat. The car was really good and fast. A top-15 position was our pre-season target and that’s now been achieved.”
Andrew: “It’s been a lot of fun. The team has been great as has was our engineer. I had a lot of learning to do but managed to get through it and bought the car home in one piece for Max. He did a great job and I’m so pleased that we got a great result for him and his father Shaun.”
#22 Andres Latorre (AUS)/Garnet Patterson (AUS)
Qualified: 25th (AL). Race: DNF
Andres: “We had a really strong race car and I was pushing hard at the start, gaining a number of positions. But after a Safety Car, the car in front of me braked very early. I locked up the rears trying not crash into him which put me onto the grass, I spun then another car hit me. We continue to learn and improve techniques.”
Garnet: “Unfortunately these things happen and we’ve been side-lined after a racing incident. It’s a shame but Andres couldn’t do much about it. Apart from not getting in the car for the race itself, it’s still been great to be at Monza. Our pace was good and I’m hoping that Spa will be good fun.”
#23 John Schauerman (US)/Wayne Boyd (GB)
Qualified: 7th (JS). Race: 11th
John: “Qualifying was good with P7 and my stint started great, holding position. Two cars ahead were dicing but collided through Parabolica. I tried to sneak by but the car came back on to the track and we touched. It spun me around and then I couldn’t get the car re-started. Wayne did a great job and almost made it into the points but it was a wasted opportunity because we had a really good chance of a podium finish.”
Wayne: “It wasn’t the result we were hoping for but there are many positives to take into the last two races. After a mega quali performance, John’s race pace was really strong. The team did a great job all weekend and just a bit of bad luck early on cost us dearly but we’re still in a strong position in the championship so there’s everything to play for in Belgium and Portugal.”
#32 Daniel Schneider (BRA)/Andy Meyrick (GB)
Qualified: 12th (DS) TIME. Race: 7th
Daniel: “I was quite happy after qualifying and my race pace was good. I tried to stay out of trouble which worked. I had a bit of understeer towards the end of my stint. But overall, a seventh place finish is very satisfying and I’m really looking forward to the last two races.”
Andy: “To start 12th on grid, run as high as fifth and to finish seventh, our best result of the MLMC season to date, is really good. The guys on the pit wall gave us good race strategy and the pit-stop was perfect. Daniel produced a great stint so I’m very happy. Additionally, we’ve scored some good points today.”
Le Mans Cup Team Manager, Charlie Kemp:
“Huge positives to take from this weekend at Monza but sadly we didn’t get the results we deserved after the pace we’d shown. It was great to welcome Andrew to United Autosports who did a fantastic job enabling #2 to post its best result of the season. #23 would have been on the podium but for a small mistake by John while it was also rewarding to see Daniel and Andy post their best finish of the year in #32. Thankfully Andres was okay after his accident.”