United Autosports has announced several drivers for the upcoming European Le Mans Series 2021 season.
The English-American team will once again enter two LMP2 and two LMP3 cars, so they need a lot of drivers.
Manuel Maldonado will be on double duty for the team in 2021. He will race in the LMP3 category in the Asian Le Mans Series, where the team will run a total of three LMP3 cars. The team is yet to announce his teammates.
It is however certain, that he will do the European Le Mans Series in the LMP2 category, where he will share car #32 with Job van Uitert. Their third driver isn’t announced yet.
The Maldonado name will of course ring a bell at all motorsport fans, and most will probably think about cousin Pastor, who has raced in both Formula 1, but also the FIA WEC during the 2018/19 season. Manuel is just 21 years old, and has his whole motorsports career ahead of him. He is rated Silver, which leaves UA with free choice for the driver rating on the final seat in that car.
Last years LMP3 Champion in ELMS, Tom Gamble, will move into the LMP2 car #22, which he will share with Phil Hanson. Gamble has the same favourable status of Silver, and the third driver is not yet announced here either. Tom has already tested the LMP2 car, during the post-season test at Portimao, so he already has an idea of what task that is in front of him for 2021.
Photo: JJ Media
His seat in one of the LMP3 cars will be taken up by Edouard Cauhaupe. He was amongst the title candidates in the Michelin Le Mans Cup LMP3 category for 2020, and was on the podium a total four times in seven races, including two victories. If only he and teammate Nicolas Maulini hadn’t been taken out early in the opening round by a competitor, this could very well have been very different.
The teammates of the 18-year-old Frenchman has not yet been announced for car #2, while car #3 already has been announced to be piloted by Jim McGuire, Duncan Tappy and Andrew Bentley.
That leaves the team with four spots, out of twelve possible seats at United Autosports in the European Le Mans Series 2021 – not to mention the cars that they will enter in the Michelin Le Mans Cup, where Daniel Schneider and Andy Meyrick already has been announced.
The team will most likely enter two cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship, but that will be confirmed or declined tomorrow, when the 2021 entry list for the FIA WEC will be revealed.
