Albuquerque steps down to LMP2 for overall IMSA victory bid at Mosport

IMSA SportsCar Championship star Filipe Albuquerque will drop down a division – but still be in the reckoning for an overall race win – at Mosport later this month.

Albuquerque, who normally drives for the factory-backed Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura squad, will hop across for a one-off IMSA LMP2 outing with United Autosports in Canada on July 14.

The Portuguese sportscar ace, who has 13 wins in IMSA’s top division, can step down to P2 as the GTP class isn’t racing at Mosport this year.

Albuquerque drove for United at last month’s Le Mans 24 Hours, sharing with Ben Keating and Ben Hanley, but the car was classified a disappointing 42nd. The sister car won the event, in the hands of Oliver Jarvis, Nolan Siegel and Bijoy Garg.

Albuquerque will team up with Daniel Goldburg in the #22 United Autosports ORECA 07, racing in place of Paul di Resta who will be fulfilling his full-season Hypercar commitments with Peugeot Sport in the World Endurance Championship’s Six Hours of Sao Paolo.

“I am really looking forward to race in Mosport with United,” said Albuquerque. “We will be racing for the overall victory.

“I had the chance to meet Daniel already and we had a great feeling. On top of that, I got a nice warm up at Le Mans to get back into the LMP2.

“We want to fight for the win for sure.”

#23 United Autosports Oreca 07: Gibson: Ben Keating, Filipe Albuquerque, Ben Hanley

Photo by: Marc Fleury

Albuquerque has never won at Mosport but is a winner this year after scoring victory with Ricky Taylor at Detroit last month.

He previously won both the WEC and European Le Mans Series LMP2 class crowns with United.

“It’s always a pleasure to race with Filipe,” said United Autosports CEO, Richard Dean, “So with Paul fulfilling his commitments with Peugeot in the WEC, it was an easy choice.

“Filipe is super quick, reliable and a fantastic mentor for other drivers… I’m sure Daniel will learn a lot from him in Canada.

“Sadly, the 24 Hours of Le Mans didn’t go to plan for Filipe and the United Autosports #23 LMP2 crew this year, so this is our opportunity to celebrate victory together in 2024.”