Newly-formed United Autosports has revised the driver line-up for its FIA GT3 European Championship campaign with its brace of 2010-specification Audi R8 LMS sportscars.
Mark Patterson (Bronxville, NY) will co-drive with fellow American Michael Guasch (Walnut Creek, CA), Mark replacing Henri Richard who is now unable to contest the 12-race, six-venue European-based series* due to increased business commitments. Zak Brown (Carmel, IN), the Chairman and Co-Owner of United Autosports, will race alongside Argentinean Pablo Pérez Companc.
The American-owned United Autosports team, which will have Remington as its primary sponsor, collected its two Audi R8 LMS sportscars from Audi Sport in Germany this week (3 Mar) and headed directly to Portugal for a two-day test (8-9 Mar) at the Autodrómo Internacional do Algarve circuit near Portimão.
The 525-hp Audi R8 LMS made a convincing showing in its first racing season in 2009. The R8 LMS was developed for “customer sport” by Audi Sport in close cooperation with quattro GmbH and clinched 23 victories and three championships including the 2009 FIA GT3 European title.
“I’m very excited to be driving for this incredible new US team,” stated Mark who has signed a two-year deal with United Autosports. “The FIA GT3 European series features competitive, spectacular looking cars with Audi heading the field.
“My knowledge of US tracks is deep but in Europe, except for Spa, it’s quite shallow. So getting up to speed on these challenging tracks will be exciting. I’ve been peddling a 2,250 lb, 500 hp, sequential shift Daytona Prototype around for the past five years so I can currently only imagine the luxury of a meticulously built and beautifully balanced Audi R8 LMS with paddle shifters!”
Zak Brown added: “Mark is a strong addition to United Autosports. With his impressive background in sportscar racing, he will make great contributions to our 2010 campaign. I’m thrilled to have him as a team-mate and I look forward to racing with him.”
“Being an American and extremely accomplished in both a race car and in business, Mark [Patterson] is the perfect profile for United Autosports and our FIA GT3 Championship programme,” confirmed Richard Dean, Managing Director and Co-Owner of United Autosports.
“To achieve at this level in both arenas is an obvious sign of a competitive nature. Mark is a proven winner in Grand Am and has now set Europe and the FIA series as his next personal challenge.
“Henri [Richard] had to pull out due to work commitments, which was a great shame, but we’ve come out of this very well with the signing of Mark. There is huge interest around our new team and the Audi R8 LMS which meant we had a long list of candidates to choose from.”
United Autosports, which operates out of Yorkshire, England, has a further test at Silverstone (23-24 Mar) before making its race début in the opening round of the British GT Championship at Oulton Park (5 Apr).
A further test scheduled for Dijon (7-8 Apr) will precede the team’s FIA GT3 European Championship début in the opening rounds at Silverstone (2 May) – a series primarily for private teams and non-professional drivers. United Autosports also plans to contest the Spa 24 Hours (31 Jul-1 Aug) in Belgium.
In 2010, United Autosports features a two-car Audi R8 LMS team in the FIA GT3 European Championship and a single-car in the UK-based Ginetta G50 Cup Series. Additionally, it will prepare and field a fleet of historic racecars for Historic Motorsports Productions "Legends of Motorsports" events in North America.
2010 FIA GT3 European Championship
02 May Silverstone, England
23 May Brno, Czech Republic
20 Jun Oschersleben, Germany
04 Jul Paul Ricard, France
19 Sep Algarve, Portugal
31 Oct Enna Pergusa, Italy*
* Provisional
Friday, March 5, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
STAR MAZDA MASTER SERIES CHAMPION MIKE GUASCH SWITCHES FROM OPEN WHEEL
RACING TO SPORTS CARS – WILL COMPETE IN 2010 FIA GT3 SERIES IN
Mike Guasch, the racer from Walnut Creek, California who won the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear 'Master Series' title will switch from open-wheel racing to sports cars in 2010 as co-driver of the #22 United Autosports / MOLECULE Labs / MG4 Manufacturing Audi R8 LMS car competing in the FIA GT3 European Championship. His co-driver on the two-car United Autosport team will be Mark Patterson, another past Star Mazda Master Series competitor who has been running for the last 5 years in the Grand Am Rolex series driving a Daytona Prototype. The duo will share the car in 12 1-hour events held in six countries, including Great Britain , the Czech Republic , Germany , France , Portugal and Italy
“To race in the FIA GT-3 series will be a great adventure and I frankly can’t wait,” said Guasch. “The caliber of teams and drivers is absolutely top-shelf, and there is a lot of interest from the media because Henri and I make up an all-American team. I've lived in 
Guasch, 52, a semi-retired businessman and entrepreneur, has a long history of competition in motocross and Jet Ski racing, but his 2006-2009 program as a driver in the intensely competitive Star Mazda Championship -- crowned by his first-ever national racing title -- marks his first foray into auto racing. He clinched his championship with six in-class victories driving the #91 JDC Motorsports / Molecule Labs / MG4 Manufacturing Mazda. The Master Series is a race-within-a-race for drivers 45 and older that pits businessmen/racers against the hottest young drivers in the world in high-tech, Indy-style cars that battle wheel-to-wheel at speeds up to 160 mph. 
"The Star Mazda Championship is a tremendous training ground for drivers of any age, and I feel well-prepared to take on this new challenge," says Guasch. "I'll get to drive my new GT car for the first time later this week, but I recently did a three-hour endurance race in a Porsche to get a feel for racing a sports car. It’s a somewhat claustrophobic experience at first, with all that metal around you, and while the car is more powerful and faster in a straight line than my Star Mazda, it reacts much more slowly in the corners. But I got the hang of it pretty quickly and turned some respectable laps, so with even more time testing and racing my new R8 LMS, I expect to be very competitive; it's just a matter of dedication, that's what makes anyone good at what they do."
Guasch's first experience behind the wheel of the R8 LMS comes next week in Algarve , Portugal Silverstone , England and then for a 'balance of power' test at Dijon , France
"This program appeals to both the driver and the businessman in me because the United Autosports team is very specially presented with a full-blown hospitality suite and brand new race cars," says Guasch. "The team is owned by Zak Brown of Just Marketing Inc., the company that brought IZOD and the Indy Racing League together. He's also co-driving the second car and his company is the marketing organization for the GT3 series, so there's a lot of commercial interest in this program. We're in negotiation with some very large companies and it will be an interesting experience, for the first time in my life, to have supplemental income from sponsorship on my race car." For more info on Mike’s racing, go to www.mikeguasch.com
About the FIA GT3 European Championship
This Championship was launched in December 2005 and has very quickly grown to be a great success, with 44 cars entered in the first season in 2006, and 50 in 2007. The GT3 cars have also moved into a number of national Championships, in many as the main category. GT3 cars remain close to their road-car origins, making them less expensive to build and to run. The Championship is based on an innovative concept in the form of a 'Cup of Cups' with limited numbers of each make allowed to take part. As well as an overall team and drivers classifications, there are separate classifications for each make, with the winner of each Cup being invited to the podium to receive a Manufacturer's award, while the FIA GT3 European Championship trophies will be given to the overall race winners. Entry is reserved for non-professional drivers. For further information, go to www.FIAGT3.com.
About United Autosports
United Autosports is a U.S.-owned professional auto racing team and motorsports development business based in Yorkshire , England North America as well as prepare a single-car team in Ginetta Cup competition. For further information, go to www.unitedautosports.com
About MOLECULE LABS
Mike Guasch is the creator of Molecule Labs, a company with roots in both specialty chemical manufacturing and motor sports. His expertise developing innovative protective chemicals led to the sale of one of his national brands to a Fortune 500 company in 2005. But instead of retiring, he decided to devote more time to racing. With his increased time on the racetrack, Guasch realized that his Nomex® racing suits required special care that dry cleaning and ordinary laundry products could not provide. So he returned to the lab to develop a new line of protective chemicals and care products specifically formulated for Nomex® and other technical fabrics. After two years of development and testing, in the lab and on the track, Guasch and his new company have created the four-step Molecule™ Technical Fabric Care System. Additional information on Molecule Labs can be obtained from the corporate website @ http://www.moleculelabs.com.
About Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear
For 2010, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will feature an 11-weekend, 13-race schedule, most on major race weekends with American Le Mans and the Indy Racing League. Rising stars from around the world will compete for prizes valued at $1.5 million and benefit from two driver development programs, including the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder and the Indy Racing League's 'Road to Indy' program. Series alumni include Indy Car stars Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal and Raphael Matos, rising NASCAR drivers Michael McDowell, Scott Speed and Colin Braun and prototype racers Dane Cameron and Guy Cosmo. Drivers 16 and older are welcome to compete and the Star Mazda Championship also features Expert (30 to 44) and Master (45 and older) classes for more mature racers. The Star Mazda Championship features standing starts, wheel-to-wheel racing at 150 mph and budgets a fraction of other top open-wheel ladder series. For more information on the Star Mazda Championship please visit www.starmazda.com
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