IMSA: United Autosports showing interest in IPC and more

Could United Autosports commit to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge Prototype Challenge series in the near future?

Anglo-American team United Autosports are beginning to lay out the groundwork for a significant commitment to making a long-term program in the United States in order to fully support a program in the IMSA Prototype Challenge series.

Team managing director Richard Dean has previously expressed interest in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as his team has competed in various IMSA events just to get a feel for the series and to see if it would be feasible to commit to a more significant program.

United Autosports were founded in 2009 by Dean along with current McLaren Formula 1 CEO Zak Brown. Dean and Brown have brought significant financial stability and a wealth of driving and team functioning knowledge, which gives a good explanation as to why the team have seen such success in such a short time.

United Autosports have competed in both the European and Asian Le Mans series in LMP2 and LMP3, and they have earned repeated entries for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

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In North America, they have partnered with teams in limited support roles. They did so with Michael Shank Racing for the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in 2011.

In 2016, United Autosports dominated the European Le Mans series with a Ligier JS P3 with the strong ownership structure of the team drawing in skilled drivers. Most recently, they competed in the 2018 24 Hours of Daytona and drew a mass of positive press by bringing in then-Formula 1 McLaren driver Fernando Alonso with a full team effort for that race.

This impressive track record has given Dean and Brown optimism to make a full-time effort in North America by laying out the groundwork for an LMP3 effort in the IMSA Prototype Challenge series with the potential to move into DPi in the future. Here is what Dean had to say about the matter, according to Sportscar365.

"“We’re looking at it…We’ve loved the IMSA program…The team enjoyed it and our drivers enjoyed it as well. We’ve got an eye on it in LMP3 with clearly trying to keep in touch over the DPi movements out there for opportunities.”"

This is not guaranteed, however, as the team have made no formal announcements or financial commitments or purchases in North America. This move would be made possible from a staff and resource standpoint with the team opting to move on from the Asian Le Mans series after claiming the LMP2 championship in 2018.

The optimism of this move would come from the long-term commitments that United Autosports would bring. The team have expressed the desire to build a permanent base with staff to operate the still hypothetical program.

With more manufacturers showing interest in the relatively more affordable IMSA Prototype platform, now would be the time to start a program. Ford has been rumored to be favoring a DPi effort with the choice to step back from its factory-supported GT program.

United Autosports have the standing relationship with IMSA organizers to make the move, the positive reputation to bring in and hold high-quality driver lineups and the financial backing to start and maintain a program if they make the commitment. The reasons to be excited about this potential move are numerous.

United Autosports joining the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge is still an option, and it is an exciting one with growing support. The next round of competition is set to be the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday, May 5th at 1:25 p.m. ET. It is set to be broadcast live on IMSA.tv and NBC Sports Network.