United Autosports Outlines Ambitious Growth Plans for 2011

·       Two-car Audi R8 LMS entry planned for full British GT and FIA GT3 European Championship campaigns next season

·       Prestigious European twice-around-the-clock races at Nürburgring and Spa also on provisional schedule for Audi “official” customer team

 

United Autosports has ambitious plans for its second season by expanding its current Audi “official” customer program in 2011.

 

In addition to the FIA GT3 European Championship which the American-owned team has focused upon in its first year of competition, the Leeds (England) based team intends to enter a brace of Audi R8 LMS GT3 sports cars in the British GT Championship.

 

The team also plans to contest two “classic” endurance 24 Hour races, at the Nürburgring (Germany) and Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), United Autosports placing third and fourth in GT3 in its maiden 24 hour race at Spa earlier this month.

 

Richard Dean, Managing Director & Co-Owner of United Autosports, confirmed: “United Autosports will continue in the FIA series but aims to complement this with a full British GT series campaign. Matt Bell has built a relationship with us at national level and is now doing a great job for us in the FIA series.

 

“It also makes sense to race in the UK as we’re based in Leeds. We already have a major UK sponsor [West London Audi] and are in negotiation with other potential ‘home’ sponsors. United Autosports made its race début in the British GT Championship. I’ve been very impressed with the quality and professionalism of the British series and look forward to regularly being a part of it next season.” 

 

Zak Brown, Chairman & Co-Owner of United Autosports, added: “In addition to the FIA GT3 European Championship and British GT Championship programs, we aim to contest the Nürburgring and Spa 24 Hour races with the Audi R8 LMS.

 

“We’ve been extremely happy with the support United Autosports has received from Audi in our first year. We want to be a part of the German manufacturer’s customer plans again next year in preparation for an even bigger schedule that I’m aiming to achieve for 2012 and beyond.”

United Autosports Continues Positive Test Programme At Silverstone

·       Both Audi R8 LMS sportscars in top-five at British GT Championship Test Day

United Autosports has successfully clocked up more valuable mileage in a two-day test (23-24 March) at Silverstone (England) which saw Mark Patterson experiencing the #22 Molecule/Cerutti Audi R8 LMS for the first time.

Having completed 1,200km in a trouble-free maiden test with its brace of 2010-specification R8 LMS sportscars at the Autodrómo Internacional do Algarve circuit near Portimão in Portugal (8-9 Mar), Patterson joined co-driver Michael Guasch while Zak Brown, the Chairman and Co-Owner of United Autosports, was out in the Remington sponsored #23 Audi at Silverstone.

The American owned team spent just five full days at its Yorkshire base in England after returning from Portugal – the first time the Audi sportscars had been in United Autosport's impressive workshop facility - before heading for the famous British motor racing venue.

A further combined 1,100km was put on the 'odometer over two days - despite changeable weather conditions – the final day being the Avon Tyres British GT Championship's Media Day (24 March) – a series in which United Autosports makes its race début with its 5.2-litre, V10-engined Audi R8 LMS GT3 class sportscars.

Brown set the second fastest time on Wednesday (1m 53.898s) while Tiff Needell, Matt Bell plus Kurt Mollekens, the latter conducting a "balance of performance test", also had short spells in the #23 Audi. The #22 Molecule/Cerutti Audi clocked the fifth quickest time (1:55.358) around the 5.14-km (3.194-mile) "Bridge Grand Prix" circuit with both Patterson and Guasch circulating within a tenth of each other.

United Autosports makes its race début in the opening two races of the British GT Championship at Oulton Park (Cheshire, England) on 5 April – the first time an Audi R8 LMS has ever competed in this series. Prior to contesting Rounds 1 & 2 of the FIA GT3 European Championship at Silverstone on 2 May, the team heads for Dijon (France) for the series' "Balance of Performance" Official Test over 6-7 with the team remaining for an additional day's test (8 April).

#22 Molecule/Cerutti Audi R8 LMS
Michael Guasch (USA). Lives: Walnut Creek, California. Age: 52
"I didn't get any running in the dry on Tuesday which was frustrating but managed a good run on Wednesday and now feel much happier. We're fine-tuning the Audi in terms of aero and camber settings and it's gradually coming to us. It's about gaining confidence in the car and finding its limits – on tracks I've never previously seen in my life let alone raced on!"

Mark Patterson (USA). Lives Bronxville, New York State. Age: 58
"Before Tuesday I'd never seen Silverstone and the closest I'd got to my racecar was a photo of its interior so the last couple of days have been interesting. Wow, what a car this Audi R8 LMS is! They tell me it's a sportscar but to me it's a pure racecar – unbelievable. The powerful V10 engine is so smooth, the paddle-shift gearbox an absolute joy while the ABS anti-lock brakes very reassuring – all very different from the Daytona Prototype I've driven for the last five years. "

#23 Remington Audi R8 LMS
Zak Brown (USA). Lives: Carmel, Indiana. Age: 38
"We had some dodgy weather [rain] on Tuesday but Wednesday's test was much better. The car was moving around on 'old rubber' but when we bolted on some fresh tyres I was able to set a decent, competitive time despite my lack of knowledge of Silverstone. I feel very comfortable in the Audi but there is still a lot to explore with the R8 LMS and to figure out how to go faster. But after only two tests, I'm very happy with the way the team is bonding and learning about the Audi."

Richard Dean (GB), Managing Director & Co-Owner of United Autosports
"We've had only a small period of time to pull together the various elements of United Autosports. The engineers, mechanics and admin guys have been together for a while but throw in the element of a new car, working with a new manufacturer and of course 'new' drivers all coming over from the States. We've really not had any time back at our workshops in Birstall near Leeds but judging by our performance over the past two days, we all seem to be gelling together which bodes very well for the season ahead."

Twin Audi attack is planned for British GT opener

With three months to go before the 2010 Avon Tyres British GT Championship blasts off, the touchpaper has been lit by the new United Autosports team and its plans to field a brace of factory assisted Audi R8 LMS racers in Easter Monday’s opening rounds of the series.

The Anglo-American team’s exciting news has been revealed by United Autosports’ co-owner and managing director, Richard Dean, who believes the Oulton Park rounds of the UK’s most prestigious sports car series will provide an ideal testbed for his new team and its German chargers.

“Our plans for 2010 centre on the FIA GT3 European Championship, and Oulton Park will be an ideal warm-up event for us,” says Dean. “The competition in British GT is always fierce and Oulton is the sort of demanding circuit that will provide the ideal test for United Autosports’ maiden outing.”

On the driving strength will be team co-owner Zak Brown, 37, an experienced sports car hand and chief executive of the world’s largest motorsport marketing agency, Just Marketing International. Another of the team’s four seats will be filled by Argentine ace Pablo Perez Companc, a former South American F3 Champion and Ferrari sports car racer.

The Audi R8 LMS was a star of FIA GT3 in 2009, Phoenix Racing drivers Christopher Haase and Christopher Mies clinching the drivers championship thanks to their R8’s three race victories and several additional podium finishes.

“The Audi proved itself as a major contender in Europe last season and we have every reason to believe that it will be a race winner again in 2010,” says Dean. “United Autosports may have a very American flavour but the team is Yorkshire based and it will be great for a British-based team to give the Audi its maiden outing in the British GT Championship.”

Among the opposition planning to line up at Oulton to give the Audis a run for their money will be the race-winning MTECH team with its Duncan Cameron/Matt Griffin Ferrari 430 Scuderia, and two Ferrari 430 Scuderias from Chad Racing. Several other new and established teams are planning major post-Christmas announcements of their plans for the championship.

“British GT and all its classes – GT3, GTC and GT4/Supersport – is looking very healthy for 2010,” says the new Avon Tyres British GT Championship manager Benjamin Franasovicci, “and Oulton Park is going to be all the more exciting for the arrival on the grid of the United Autosports Audis.”

Championship promoter SRO has announced an eight-date, 14-race calendar for 2010, including a season-closing ‘into the night’ race at Donington Park and a two-hour endurance round on the Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone.

The championship is sponsored by Avon Tyres and is further supported by motorsport insurance specialist AON, by Sunoco Racing Fuels and by Anglo American Oil Company.