EDGE driver James Cottingham headed into Round 2 of the World Endurance Championship with high hopes of his first WEC points in the #59 McLaren LMGT3.

Qualifying took place on the Saturday and James managed to put in a great lap to get into Hyperpole! From there he managed a time which would see him start the 6H of Imola from P10.

James kicked off proceedings in the Italian sunshine starting P10 after the Hyperpole shootout on Saturday afternoon. The British GT vice-champion quickly gained four places, running P6 while fellow Brit Caygill in the sister car, who started P15, also made progress in the first hour, moving up to P11.

For Cottingham and the #59 crew, progress was hampered by a right rear puncture – but as we headed into the second hour, both cars were in the top 10. Nicolas Costa (#59) and Nico Pino (#95) took over and continued the good work, sitting P7 and P9 respectively at the half-way point – before the weather took a turn, the track was declared wet and the spotlight focussed on tyre strategy.

Car #59 put on wet tyres when Gregoire Saucy took over, changing to slicks at the mid-point of his 50-lap session as the conditions cleared. The Swiss racer gained a couple of places to finish the race P11 – but after running within the top half of the field for the majority of the race, the team deserved more.

The next round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on 11th May 2024. Stay up to date with the team in the meantime on social @unitedautosports.