United Autosports has announced that it will be fielding a two-car LMP3 entry into the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The Anglo-American squad will enter a pair of Ligier JS P320s into the twice-around-the-clock enduro in Florida, which will see LMP3 cars compete in the race for the first time. The team’s driver line-up is yet to be confirmed.
“We are really excited to hopefully go racing at Daytona once again,” said Zak Brown, team owner and chairman. “Adding the LMP3 class into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship is a great idea and I’m not surprised that there has been so much interest in the category so far. I love Daytona and I love 24-hour races so this makes perfect sense for us as a team.”
United Autosports returns to the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the first time since 2018, when it entered a pair of Ligier JS P217-Gibsons into the Prototype category. The first car featured a star-studded line-up consisting of Fernando Alonso, current McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris and recent Le Mans LMP2 class winner Phil Hanson. The second car, driven by WEC stars Paul di Resta and Bruno Senna alongside Will Owen and Hugo de Sadeleer, finished fourth.
“Adding the LMP3 class into the Daytona 24 Hours and the six race WeatherTech season as a whole is a fantastic idea, congratulations to everyone at IMSA,” added team owner and managing director Richard Dean. “It further raises the profile of LMP3 and allows the teams to really push the limits with these cars over a 24-hour period. We are still waiting for some regulation confirmation from the organisers with regards to driver grading line ups, but we are excited at the prospect of returning to Daytona again and we can’t wait to display our LMP3 team over in the USA.”
LMP3 proves popular
IMSA president John Doonan announced at the recent State of the Series address that LMP3 cars would be eligible to compete in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship as a means to boost the championship grid.
The measure has so far proven popular, with United Autosports becoming the latest team to announce some form of IMSA LMP3 program.
IMSA regulars Riley Motorsports and Performance Tech Motorsports have both expressed interest, while last week, top ELMS LMP3 outfit Eurointernational confirmed that they too will field a Ligier JS P320 in the Florida endurance classic.
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