United Autosports makes up for Daytona disappointment with 1-2 LMP2 finish at Sebring

How did United Autosports USA make up for the disappointment of Daytona? Finishing 1-2 at Sebring certainly helps.

The two United ORECA 07-Gibsons finished just half a second apart, as the white No. 2 car of Phil Fayer, Mikkel Jensen, and Hunter McElrea came through for the victory. This trio’s hopes of winning Daytona were crushed in a bizarre first-lap, first-corner collision between Fayer and TDS Racing’s Tobias Lütke.

After an early 60-second stop-and-go penalty for entering a closed pit and taking more than what was allowed under emergency service, Fayer, Jensen, and McElrea were able to get back on the lead lap and eventually in the top three.

Still, the No. 99 AO Racing “Spike” ORECA was the dominant LMP2 for most of the day. But when the No. 52 Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen car lost its right-rear wheel with two hours left, “Spike” was badly caught out due to the timing of the full course yellow and had to take an extra pit stop.

Jensen then overtook Tower Motorsports’ Tristan Vautier for the lead on a subsequent restart, and held off teammate Paul di Resta in the final hour to secure his first win for United Autosports, along with McElrea, who came over in a package deal after years of endurance success with TDS Racing.

Di Resta, Daniel Goldburg, and Rasmus Lindh came home second in their blue No. 22. And Vautier, taking the place of his countryman Sébastien Bourdais, proved to be a more-than-capable replacement in the No. 8 alongside Tower Motorsports’ regulars John Farano and Sebastian Alvarez.

Goldburg and Di Resta’s runner-up finish gives them the LMP2 championship lead, a narrow three-point lead, but one they’ll hold until June – as the class doesn’t return until the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen.

The No. 18 Era Motorsport car finished fourth, ahead of the Rolex 24-winning No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR car in fifth, and the No. 99 AO Racing car of PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron, and Jonny Edgar in a disappointing sixth. Kurtz and Quinn are second in the standings, ahead of Fayer and Jensen.