United Autosports has confirmed their substitute driver for the FIA World Endurance Championship team, when the series goes to Portimao next month.
The FIA WEC squad is usually made up of Fabio Scherer, Phil Hanson, and Filipe Albuquerque, but somewhat ironically, the team will have to race without Portuguese racing driver Albuquerque at the Portuguese round.
The reason is due to a date clash with his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship deal in the USA with the Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Acura team. They will be racing in Detroit, on the same weekend as FIA WEC races in the south of Portugal.
Photo: JJ Media
His replacement will come from within their own ranks, in the shape of Paul Di Resta. The Scotsman raced together with Hanson during the 2019/20 season in the FIA WEC, and will be racing a third UA car at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this August.
There is a further date clash later on in the season, with the FIA WEC race at Fuji and the IMSA race at Long Beach. There is currently no news about a potential substitute for that round, since it won’t be held until the final weekend of September.
United Autosports was very dominant during the first round of the FIA WEC 2021, grabbing points for both Pole Position and the victory, with them crossing the line more than a minute ahead of second. The results sheets say a full lap, but that is a bit misleading due to the position of the cars compared to the overall winning Hypercar.
The 8 Hours of Portimao is scheduled for 13 June 2021.
