United Autosports has revealed the driver lineup for its second entry in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP2 category for 2024, with LMP3 standout Dan Goldburg moving up to P2 with Marino Sato and Paul di Resta.
Ben Keating and Alex Quinn had previously been announced in the first car, Keating for the full season and Quinn in for the Michelin Endurance Cup rounds.
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“For our team’s first full season in IMSA, we find ourselves in a pretty strong place with our driver signings,” says United Autosports CEO Richard Dean. “Dan, Marino and Paul will be super competitive from the outset and are all here to challenge for wins. We now have both cars that will be frontrunners and that’s a great place to be from a data and development position.
“We have a new base in the Jr III facility we can now call our USA home in Charlotte, N.C. It’s been a busy few months putting our IMSA program together and I couldn’t be happier with where we are today.”
Goldburg, multi-race winning IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge driver, and President and Majority Owner of Floridian structural shell contractor CSCI, is a familiar face in the IMSA paddock having raced LMP3s in the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge (formerly the IMSA Prototype Challenge) since 2020. This season he has scored wins at Daytona and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. He’s also made several appearances in the WeatherTech Championship in LMP3.
“I am thrilled to earn the opportunity to drive for United Autosports in WeatherTech LMP2 in 2024,” said Goldburg. “I began talking to Richard [Dean] early this year and I’m ecstatic for it to all come together and finally announce our intentions.
“For my first full season in LMP2, I can’t ask for a better possible setup. The United Autosports operation is second to none and I know they will help me get up to speed quickly. Richard helped pair me with a killer line-up … along with Marino and Paul, I think we’re really ticking all the boxes. We’re going to come out swinging in Daytona!”
Paul di Resta – former F1 driver, 2020 WEC champion and established member of the United Autosports team – will join Goldburg in the United ORECA 07, alongside his full-season WEC Hypercar seat with Peugeot.
“We mean business, we’re going there to tackle the championship and I want to be part of it,” declared di Resta. “It’s going to be a good move for Dan Goldburg, stepping up to LMP2, and Marino Sato has integrated with the team this year in the ELMS paddock so I think it should make for a good lineup. I’m excited to get started, combining this new venture with my WEC commitments. Thanks to Peugeot for giving me the opportunity to join the United team … now, let’s see what we can do.”
Sato will contest the Michelin Endurance Cup races on his IMSA debut. After progressing through the ranks in single seaters, Sato turned his attention to the world of prototypes. He signed with United Autosports for the 2023 European Le Mans Series, drove his first laps in an LMP2 car in April and, two months later, contested his first endurance race at the 4 Hours of Barcelona. He celebrated his first prototype win three races into the season, taking victory at the 4 Hours of Aragon with co-drivers Olly Jarvis and Phil Hanson
“I’m grateful to continue with United Autosports for a second season – thank you to the team for their trust in me,” Sato said. “This will be my second season in sports cars, and my first in the US … I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I’ve always wanted to race in America so it’s really exciting.”
United Autosports is making the move to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship after the LMP2 category was discontinued in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The teams two cars sit third and fourth in the points with the season finale 8 Hours of Bahrain left to run.