McLaren F1 team principal Brown drives a GT4 for United Autosports

McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown and his United Autosports team will return to the cockpit of one of the British brand’s GT racing drivers in Zandvoort next month.

Brown and his partner in the reigning FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 title winning team, Richard Dean, will share a McLaren 570S at the Dutch run of the GT4 European Series from June 19-20.

It is the first time Brown has driven a contemporary McLaren behind the wheel of an MP4-12C since a sub-campaign in the British GT Championship in 2013.

“I’m really excited to get behind the wheel of a racing car again at Zandvoort,” said Brown, whose racing has focused on historical values ​​since 2013.

“I’ve tested a few times with the team in our McLaren now and I’m so ready to go to Zandvoort to see what we can do.

“It will be nice to return to modern racing after focusing on my historic racing for the past few years.”

Former Formula 3000 driver and Le Mans class winner Dean added: “It’s been a long time since I last drove a current United Autosports car, so I’m really looking forward to driving the McLaren GT4. “

Brown, 48, also contested three rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series in a United MP4-12C in 2012 and then won the British GT Final with Alvaro Parente at Donington Park in a team’s McLaren.

The American started his contemporary racing career in the British Formula 3 Championship and Indy Lights in the 1990s before focusing on his Just Marketing International business, which he sold in 2013, three years before joining McLaren.

He has driven a variety of historic machines over the past few years, including Williams FW07 and McLaren M26 Formula 1 cars, as well as Porsche 962 and 935 sports cars.

United has returned to the GT ranks since 2016 after focusing on prototypes.

In collaboration with HHC Motorsport, Bailey Voisin and Charlie Fagg as well as Gus Bowers and Dean Macdonald are using a pair of 570S GT4s throughout the European series.

Ginetta Junior Graduate Voisin and GT4 regular Fagg won both races at the season opener in Monza and are currently in second place in the silver class.