British GT: Bell and Patterson aim for solid start in opening British GT Championship weekend

Audi Motorsport Blog: British GT: Bell and Patterson aim for solid start in opening British GT Championship weekend

United Autosports Press Release

The opening Avon Tyres British GT Championship meeting at Oulton Park holds special memories for United Autosports. At the corresponding event in 2010, the Anglo-American team made its race debut at the Cheshire venue.

Having competed at the picturesque 2.692-mile Oulton track every year since and wracked up seven top-six finishes in BGT races – including two runners-up spots in 2011 & ’13 – United Autosports is gunning for the very top spot on the rostrum in the two one-hour races.

Matt Bell and Mark Patterson who, until the dying minutes of the final race of last season, looked to be claiming the championship title, continue to race an Audi R8 LMS ultra.

#23 Allied World / Henderson – Audi R8 LMS ultra

Matt Bell (GB). Age: 24. Born: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne & Wear, England. Lives: Barningham nr Richmond, North Yorkshire, England.

“I’ve been on the podium twice over the past three years but never got the win so I'm hoping to fix that this time around. Our approach needs to remain that we aim for podiums and consistency. We're confident we'll be in the mix due to our pace, Mark knowing all the tracks this year while the Audi is almost like a second home for me, so we just need to focus on making no mistakes and we'll be in the fight.

“United Autosports has always been ambitious and competitive. The team is full of good and knowledgeable people and there’s also a good atmosphere which makes them great to work with.”

Mark Patterson (USA). Age: 62. Born: Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Lives: Bronxville, New York, USA.

“Having come so close to winning the BGT title last year, United Autosports, Matt and I can legitimately approach 2014 more methodically and with real intent to win the championship. Not necessarily going full out on winning every race but scoring consistently is the key to winning this championship as proved to be the case last year.

“Oulton is perfect for the Audi – no super long straights, lots of high-speed weight transition points and delicate late-braking spots where we'll excel and so a podium placing is our aim.”

Richard Dean, Team Owner and Managing Director, United Autosports:

“We are looking forward to the opening rounds. Mark [Patterson] and Matt [Bell] are in with a great chance of some top results this year and are also title contenders after such a strong finish to the 2013 championship. Finishing only 1.5 points behind the championship winner last year was tough but we have the car, the drivers and the team to go all the way this year.”

Photo credit: United Autosports