United Autosports withdraws from 2018 Petit Le Mans IMSA race
The United Autosports LMP2 squad has withdrawn from the 2018 Petit Le Mans IMSA SportsCar Championship round, which will take place in October


The European Le Mans Series regular had been due to contest the 10-hour race at Road Atlanta on October 13 with a single Ligier-Gibson JSP217 as part of its assault on the North American Endurance Cup's four IMSA long-distance races.
The withdrawal is linked to United's decision not to return to the Daytona 24 Hours 2019 series opener next January after IMSA opted to move the LMP2 cars into a separate Pro-Am class secondary to the Daytona Prototype international machinery for 2019.
United has decided to contest the Asian Le Mans Series with two previous-generation Ligier-Nissan JSP2s after opting out of Daytona.
"Petit falls in a period between the Spa and Algarve ELMS rounds and at time when our equipment needs to be shipped to Shanghai for the start of the Asian series," United boss Richard Dean told Autosport.
"There is a logistical issue, and it didn't make sense to go to Petit and compromise either our European or Asian programmes."
Dean explained that a lack of driver availability was a secondary reason for the Petit withdrawal.
Bruno Senna, who raced for United at the Daytona and Sebring NAEC rounds, is due to be on duty for Rebellion in the World Endurance Championship round at Fuji.
Paul di Resta also did the Watkins Glen 6 Hours for United in July, but he will be racing for Mercedes at the DTM finale at Hockenheim on the Petit weekend.
United's withdrawal means there are unlikely to be any Ligiers on the grid for Petit after the PR1/Mathiasen squad announced it is switching from the JSP217 to the ORECA-Gibson 07 ahead of next month's Laguna Seca IMSA round.
Briton Phil Hanson was the only confirmed driver for United's Petit assault.


IMSA SportsCar Championship's only full-time Ligier team gets ORECA
Ferrari F1 protege Giovinazzi to contest IMSA's Petit Le Mans

Latest news
The British pair at the heart of Lexus's IMSA push
Have you heard the one about two northerners driving for a Japanese manufacturer in America’s top sportscar series? Time to sit down and talk with Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat about racing across the pond… and your accent being mistaken for Australian
Why Peugeot couldn't afford to take a Le Mans gamble in 2022
Ahead of the much-anticipated arrival of its new 9X8 Hypercar, Peugeot revealed that it would not be entering this year's Le Mans 24 Hours with its incoming machinery. Although development restrictions for homologated cars are partially responsible, the French marque can draw on its own lessons from its history in sportscars
Why two names for the same thing could cloud sportscar racing's new golden era
OPINION: The adoption by IMSA of the GTP name for its forthcoming LMDh versus Le Mans Hypercar era in 2023 appeals to fans of nostalgia - but it undermines the commonality achieved by bringing its rulebook into line with the World Endurance Championship. GTP or Hypercar, both sides should settle on a single name
Celebrating the weird and wonderful monsters of sportscar racing
Few disciplines of motorsport offer better possibilities to build a colossus of the track than sportscars. For Autosport's recent Monsters of Motorsport special issue, we picked out some of the finest (and not so fine) that have graced sportscar classics including Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring
How Castroneves and Meyer Shank conquered another US classic
Helio Castroneves continued his fine start to life with Meyer Shank Racing that netted the 2021 Indianapolis 500 victory by prevailing in last weekend's Daytona 24 Hours together with team-mates Tom Blomqvist, Oliver Jarvis and Simon Pagenaud. As Cadillac fell by the wayside, the Brazilian veteran won out in an all-Acura duel to the finish
The British sportscar aces readying for a new golden era in IMSA
With the arrival of LMDh looming in 2023, top sportscar drivers are flocking to IMSA for the last hurrah of the DPi cars, starting with this weekend’s Daytona 24 Hours. Seven of the championship's leading British aces explain its appeal and share their hopes of winning a sought-after new watch...
How Derani's long road to title success exorcised painful memories
It took Pipo Derani no time at all to establish himself as a winner in IMSA, winning the Daytona 24 Hours and Sebring 12 Hours on his first two starts in 2016. But it took until the final corner of the 2021 season before he could become its champion, the culmination of a journey that he believes has made him a better driver
How the next step in the IMSA and WEC convergence can reunite multiple fronts
OPINION: Following the latest convergence connection permitting Le Mans Hypercars from the World Endurance Championship to compete against LMDh entries in the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023, it could open up enticing options not only to manufacturers but also for the calendar and race formats