With just two months until the Asian Le Mans Series – the first fixture on United Autosports’ 2023 race calendar – the driver line-up for the team’s second LMP2 entry can be revealed.

The Anglo-American team will field multi-championship winning trio Yasser Shahin, Garnet Patterson and Oliver Jarvis in the #23 ORECA 07 in four races across two weekends in Dubai and Abu Dhabi next February.

The series will mark an exciting team debut for Yasser Shahin – two-time GT World Challenge Australia champion, Audi R8 LMS Cup winner, part-owner of The Bend Motorsport Park in Adelaide and Entrepreneur. The Australian-Palestinian bronze-ranked driver has been racing for less than 10 years but has racked up a wealth of experience in the GT arena, with 42 podiums and 19 wins from 85 races entered.

Fellow Aussie driver Garnet Patterson re-joins the United squad for a second championship after driving with the team in the 2022 Michelin Le Mans Cup. Australia’s 2014 Formula 3 champion made his LMP2 race debut appearance two years ago in the Asian LMS at The Bend and will have high hopes for the Dubai and Abu Dhabi rounds … and with good reason. In 2016, Patterson came third in the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup, the summer equivalent to the winter-season ALMS.

Wrapping up the United trio, it’s British driver Oliver Jarvis who is back racing in the ALMS after more than a decade – the last time he contested the series was the inaugural year in 2009, scoring a podium in the two-race series en route to fourth place in the standings. Now the former Audi Sport and Mazda factory driver is heading to Asia in the build-up to his second WEC season with the United team. 2022 was strong for Olly, winning the 1000 Miles of Sebring, the IMSA DPi Championship and placing third in the World Endurance Championship – so as we head into the New Year, it’s all eyes on the ALMS title.

The 2023 Asian Le Mans Series will kick off at the Dubai Autodrome on 11th February, concluding at the Yas Marina Circuit on 19th February. The stakes are high for United who dominated the 2022 ALMS when Josh Pierson and Paul Di Resta scooped pole position, victory and fastest lap in both races entered. Now returning to the UAE with a two-car entry, the newly-unveiled United driver team will be joined by the #22 car of Jim McGuire, Phil Hanson and Di Resta, Hanson and Di Resta having won the ALMS LMP2 Driver’s title in 2018-19.

Yasser Shahin: “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in the ALMS series with United Autosports, representing The Bend Motorsport Park. Having already hosted a round of ALMS pre-covid down under, I’m very much looking forward to getting up close to the series and seeing first-hand these amazing machines in action. I’m joined by a couple of very accomplished drivers in the LMP2 category and therefore looking forward to a strong performance”

Garnet Patterson: “Can’t wait to step up to LMP2 with United Autosports for the Asian Le Mans Series in 2023. Yasser and I had a successful WEC rookie test in Bahrain, showing promising pace, and to be joined by someone as experienced as Olly … I think we have a really competitive package entering into the championship. I’m excited to get to the UAE in February and see what we can achieve!”

Oliver Jarvis: “I’m so excited to be a part of the United Autosports charge at the Asian Le Mans Series, and really looking forward to driving alongside Yasser and Garnet for the first time. I think we’re a strong team and can’t wait to get going in the New Year.”

Richard Dean: “What a great driver lineup! All three drivers know how to win races, and I am sure they will be very competitive in the Asian LMS for our team. We love the series, the venues and the format of the current Asian LMS and we have enjoyed great success as a team in these events.”