The Leeds-based United Autosports team and Britain’s Danny Watts (Thornborough), brought the stunning GR Asia-sponsored McLaren MP4-12C GT3 home for a superb third place in Macau on Sunday on the car’s first ever visit to Asia and the prestigious Macau event.
The beautifully-presented Gulf Oil-liveried McLaren was the talk of the paddock, being the first MP4-12C to compete in Asia. Having had no time to get to know the development car – which had been flown to Asia the day it was delivered to United Autosports – the team was delighted with the trouble-free running it produced.
As Watts put the McLaren through its paces on track during practice and qualifying, it proved to be as good as it looked around the tight and twisty narrow street circuit, taking a top three place in each session. With an over-subscribed entry and 30 cars on the packed grid, Danny still sustained an incredible pace to take a supber third on the grid during Saturday qualifying, despite being hampered by heavy traffic at times around the 3.8-mile track.
The blue ribbon annual Macau event attracts the cream of car and drivers, many of the teams showcasing their 2012 factory cars, including pole-sitter and eventual winner Italian Edoardo Mortara (Audi A8 LMS); a multiple Macau winner in Formula 3 and the GT Cup.
As the Star River – Windsor Arch Macau GT Cup race – scheduled for 12 laps – got underway on Sunday, Watts slotted into third place behind Mortara and Japan’s Keita Sawa, the trio pulling way ahead of the field until the race was abruptly halted on the third lap after a massive four-car accident further down the order at Mandarin.
At the restart, Watts fought hard over second with Japan’s Keita Sawa, the McLaren obviously significantly quicker than the Lamborghini around the barrier-lined, narrow circuit confines. Ultimately, however, the British driver, whose race pace was good enough to win, brought the McLaren home for a show-stopping third place on its first visit to the Guai Circuit and gave Watts cause to celebrate his 10th anniversary race in Macau.
It was an excellent result for the young United Autosports team to end the 2011 season, and the Anglo-American sportscar outfit now sets its sights on 2012 with a brace of McLaren supercars.
Danny Watts (GB). Age 31. Born: Aylesbury, UK. Lives: Thornborough, nr Buckingham, GB
“I’m very happy with third for the first time here with the McLaren. We’ve learned a huge amount this weekend, developed it and moved it forward throughout the whole four days, so to get a podium on its début is just fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Every year the standard gets higher and higher, the drivers turn up in better cars all the time, and it’s fantastic for the category that twice Macau Formula 3 winner and works DTM driver, Edoardo Montara, turns up in his Audi. You have to be on your toes, and I think collectively as a team, we did a great job all weekend.
“At any normal circuit braking issues wouldn’t be so much of a problem because you’ve got plenty of run off, but in Macau, you want to have confidence in your brake pedal because the track’s lined by barriers and if you out-brake yourself by two metres you hit the wall. So unfortunately I had to bring my braking point back a little bit, which meant we lost a little bit of time, but apart from that the car’s handling was excellent, really responsive, good traction, great rear end, and overall the car was really strong.”
Richard Dean (GB), Managing Director & Co-Owner of United Autosports.
“It’s a shame the race was in two halves with a big accident, but thankfully everybody was okay. It just shows what can happen around Macau. To get two cars back in one piece and running well compared to some of the cars that were coming back is a relief. Danny was driving well within himself but there were not enough laps after the red flag to really challenge. This McLaren development car was delivered to us on the day it flew to Asia, so we had very little time to get to know it. The fact it came here and ran trouble free is a tribute to McLaren GT and I’m really excited United Autosports have achieved a first podium with the car, which really bodes well for the future. There is so much potential in the car; I can’t wait to get my hands on the new definitive 2012 customer version!”
Source : United Autosports