Will Le Mans this year prove to be the most memorable and important race event in United Autosports’ 15-year history to date?
Richard Dean and Zak Brown’s ultra-successful team has arrived in France fully prepared for what is undoubtedly going to be a hugely taxing week. On track, the team brings a four-pronged attack across three of the four classes in the race and feels it is in with a chance of silverware with each of its cars.
In LMP2, it has a class win to defend after blitzing the rain-soaked edition last year with its No. 22 ORECA driven by former IMSA champion Oliver Jarvis, and American youngsters Bijoy Garg and Nolan Siegel.
Only Jarvis returns from the winning crew 12 months ago, and he will race in the sister Pro/Am-entered car this time around. Instead, the Anglo-American team is relying on three drivers who are entirely new to the team to lead the line: Pietro Fittipaldi, David Heinemeier Hansson and Renger van der Zande.
It’s a head-turning trio, which, despite being new to United’s ways of working, is expected to fight at the sharp end of the category. Fittipaldi has experience sharing an ORECA with DHH – a former class winner – twice before at Le Mans, with Inter Europol and JOTA, while van der Zande brings top-level factory experience from IMSA and a pair of Rolex 24 wins to the party.
IndyCar racer Nolan Siegel helped bring home an LMP2 win for UA at Le Mans last year, and this year the team has added IMSA ace van der Zande to its driving strength. Charly Lopez/DPPI
“My perfect program is full-season IMSA and Le Mans, so when Richard Dean called me and wanted me to be a part of it, I couldn’t say no,” says van der Zande, who travels to Franch fresh from winning on the streets of Detroit with Acura Meyer Shank Racing. “I’ve seen United over the years, and they’ve always done a good job.”
“It’s a challenge for us being new to this team, but we did a test at Spa to prepare and we worked together well there. Ultimately, I feel with United, if you want to have a shot at the win, it is the right place to be.”
The Pro/Am No. 23 car, meanwhile, is built around defending winner Jarvis, who, along with Ben Hanley, will be coaching Le Mans debutant Brazilian racer Daniel Schneider through the event.
Schneider, an FIA Bronze, has raced at the Circuit de la Sarthe before, but only in the Road to Le Mans support races in an LMP3 Ligier. Tackling the headline race in an LMP2 car will be a totally different challenge, likely the toughest of his racing career to date.
“It’s a dream come true after years racing as an amateur, a real privilege and the pinnacle of my career,” he says. “I’m excited to have two winners alongside me so we can aim for more than just being there. Road to Le Mans is very chaotic but extremely helpful. At least I know the circuit; I won’t be nervous in the same way. I look forward to having a proper race to enjoy there.”
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Schneider’s lack of experience in the big dance hasn’t deterred Jarvis from believing the No. 23 trio can aim high though. If they stay on the lead lap through the first half of the race, he feels there’s no reason they can’t go on and fight for outright LMP2 glory.
“It’s all about staying out of trouble and surviving,” he says. “I see us being in LMP2. It’s split in two, but I don’t understand why we can’t fight for the overall. We’ve got a line-up and team capable of winning it.
“The first priority is to win Pro/Am, but the way the rules have changed in recent years, I think Pro/Am cars have a chance to win outright. We just hope it’s us.”
Like in 2024, United also has skin in the LMGT3 game. But this year, the spotlight will shine brighter. 12 months ago, it was entrusted with flying the flag for McLaren in its Le Mans comeback. This time, it has the added motivation of being partnered w ith the Woking brand on the 30th anniversary of its historic overall win with the F1 GTR in 1995.
UA is out to share a momentous Le Mans anniversary with McLaren.
“What happened in 1995, when it comes to my day job trying to sell McLaren F1s, it’s something we always talk about,” reflects James Cottingham, who drives the Meningitis Research Foundation-liveried No. 59 GT3 Evo with Sebastien Baud and Gregoire Saucy. “There’s a huge amount of focus on that win and what it means, and there are a lot of people rooting for us for that reason. It’s a nice thing to go to Le Mans with.”
It’s been a tough start to the 2025 WEC season for United. After building positive momentum through the second half of its maiden campaign in the championship’s GT class, it looked primed to nab a breakthrough win at the Qatar 1812 Km to open this season.
The team locked out the front row in qualifying, with Darren Leung and Sean Gelael combining to set pole for the No. 95. The pace was there, but the race didn’t quite go to plan. The No. 95 fell away and finished seventh, and the No. 59 settled for second after losing the lead late in the closing stages. Since then, it’s been tough sledding, with only one points finish across the two cars to show for through the visits to Imola and Spa.
United hasn’t been the only team to struggle for consistency, though. The No. 33 TF Sport Corvette, for instance – which beat United’s McLarens to victory in Lusail – leads the standings off the back of that win, plus a seventh and 13th-place finish. The rollercoaster season for most of the field has kept the No. 95 United crew in the hunt and sixth, just 17 points off the top spot despite finishing outside the top 10 in the two European races.
With double points on offer at Le Mans, and no success handicap ballast to worry about, there’s a huge opportunity to make history and turn things around before the flyaways.
“I think you’ve got to have some bad luck during the season, and we’ve had all of it,” Cottingham explains. “We’ve got it out of the way, and we’re confident in the team, car, and line-up we have for the race. We showed at Spa how fast we can be over multiple stints. Fortunately, the championship is still up in the air and close, so we can still emerge in a very strong position.”
United Autosports could well be making headlines off-track, too. McLaren has scheduled a press conference on the eve of the 24 Hours which is widely expected to reveal more about its forthcoming Hypercar program. And United, unsurprisingly, is believed to be the standout favorite to become the service provider for the brand when it joins Hypercar in 2027, with its clear ties to McLaren through co-owner Brown and its LMGT3 effort. And UA’s huge multistory facility in the UK, located in Wakefield, Yorkshire, which opened its doors back in 2020, is ready and waiting to add a top-class LMDh program to its workshop floor.
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