United Autosports Plotting GT3 Return

Photo: United Autosports

United Autosports is plotting a return to the GT3 ranks, with a Blancpain GT Series program under evaluation for next year according to managing director Richard Dean.

The Anglo-American team, which was founded by Dean and Zak Brown in 2010, initially campaigned Audi R8 LMS and McLaren MP4-12C GT3 machinery prior to a switch to prototype racing in 2016.

While having achieved numerous titles in LMP3, as well as the 2018-19 Asian Le Mans Series LMP2 championship, Dean said they’re “actively looking” at adding a GT3 project to its existing programs.

“We’re looking at it and we are in discussions,” he told Sportscar365. “We stepped out of [GT3 racing] probably for the right reasons, and it feels, for various reasons, it feels almost like the right time to be going back in.

“We’re working on something. We’re certainly actively looking at GT3 again.”

A deadline of the end of August has been established to finalize the program, with talks currently ongoing between manufacturers.

Dean said they wouldn’t necessarily be locked into running McLaren 720S GT3s due to co-owner Brown’s position as McLaren Racing CEO, which could even lead to a conflict of interest.

The British manufacturer, however, does not currently have any Blancpain GT entries in Europe this year.

“[Zak’s] position here at United is completely independent of McLaren and he was in place here before the McLaren thing,” Dean said.

“We are not tied to anything that Zak now suddenly is doing in his day job. There’s no restrictions on what we do, we’re pretty open.”

Dean said there are parts of the proposed program that are not yet decided but has targeted the SRO Motorsports Group-run championship as its GT3 series of choice.

He explained the team is not exclusively tied to ACO-run championships, despite the majority of its current programs coming in those series.

“We’re always looking for something that’s a competitive option that furthers the team,” Dean said. “Hence, why we did Daytona, Sebring and Watkins Glen. We’d love a [full-time] IMSA program.”

United Set for Asian Le Mans Series Return in LMP3

Dean indicated the team will return to the Asian Le Mans Series next season, with a likely two-car LMP3 program with Ligier JS P3 Nissans.

The team, which won last season’s LMP2 title, had initially ruled out a continued presence due to its step up to the FIA World Endurance Championship.

“Our ELMS LMP3 team is very likely to go to Asia,” Dean said. “We’re just waiting for a couple of things to fall into place. I’m hoping we’ll be in a position to announce a program in the next two or three weeks for that.”

Dean said the decision to expand its sports car racing involvement coincides with a brand-new workshop in Leeds that it is planning to move into in August.

“Everything’s coming under one roof, it’s a new building and that’s why we are looking at these other programs,” he said.

“We’ll have the capacity in terms of space and all ability to run dedicated programs.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John