While the rain pours in the UK, it’s time for another sun-soaked weekend of racing in Monterey. Find out what the Velocity Invitational has in store for Zak Brown and United Autosports.
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Now in its third year, Velocity is a truly unique event on the motorsport calendar – combining historic cars, gourmet food and live entertainment to create an unmissable weekend amidst the Californian hills.
For the 2022 edition, Zak Brown – United Autosports co-owner and McLaren Racing CEO – will be driving two cars from his personal collection, a 1974 Ford Cologne Capri RS3100 and the 2011 Holden VE Commodore V8 Supercar.
First up, the 1974 Ford Cologne Capri RS3100 – an iconic blue, white and yellow touring car with a winning backstory and a historic list of drivers including Niki Lauda. The Capri – one of only three works RS3100s built – claimed two victories out of two starts in the 1974 European Touring Car Championship, won the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft at Zandvoort and now has its sights set on triumph at Velocity.
Fast forward to 2011 and enter the glory days of the Holden VE Commodore, the second car Brown will be racing at Laguna Seca. This legendary touring car won the Bathurst 1000 in October 2011 – the blue riband event of the the Australian V8 Supercars Championship – crossing the line just 0.291 seconds ahead of the hunting Ford FG Falcon in a true battle to the end.
The historics department at United Autosports, headed up by Paul ‘Flower’ Haigh and Dickie Stanford, former Williams F1 Team Manager, will be trackside in California to make sure everything runs smoothly. Based in Yorkshire, the expert team take care of the Ford, the Holden and many other cars in Brown’s personal collection – ensuring they stay in prime condition, with everything from cosmetic restorations to full internal engine rebuilds taking place at United Autosports HQ.
Just two months ago, Zak Brown and United Autosports celebrated victory in California, claiming a win and two podiums in the Jaguar XJR-10 at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Now the team are back in Laguna Seca with two iconic cars, two feature races and eyes on another big result.
Zak Brown: “Racing in Monterey is always great fun, so it’s awesome to be back for Velocity 2022 with the United Autosports team. This time, we’re racing the Capri and the Holden – two iconic cars which are making their Laguna Seca debut … I can’t wait to get out on track and see what we can do.”
Make sure you stay up to date with all the West Coast action on the United Autosports Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages.
The post Velocity Invitational: McLaren CEO Zak Brown and United Autosports rev up for another week of historic racing in Monterey appeared first on Paddock Magazine.