United Autosports ELMS and WEC driver Phil Hanson’s future in prototype racing is not yet clear, with United Autosports moving its flagship programme to IMSA in 2024 and the WEC removing LMP2 from its class structure.
Speaking to DSC, Hanson says he feels ready to move into the top class of endurance racing after a seven-year stint in LMP2 racing, during which he has claimed ELMS, Asian Le Mans and FIA WEC titles, as well as a Le Mans class win.
Hanson is currently monitoring both the FIA WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP classes with the aim of finding a drive that allows him to fight for overall wins at the major endurance races around the world.
“At the moment I am open to calls,” he told DSC. “Nothing is agreed yet. My ambition is to go into the top category, whether that’s achievable is something I am not sure about.
“The goal is Hypercar, but it’s easier said than done. I would like to have a presence in IMSA too, but what that looks like I am not sure. With LMP2 no longer being in WEC, the question is what do I do? Lots of manufacturers have full programmes already with drivers committed from junior programmes. I have to find someone who has faith in me to do the job.
“I 100 per cent think I am ready. It hasn’t been a linear progression, but I have made the steps required over the past few years. It’s been difficult sometimes to see my strengths when the results aren’t there, but when you look close enough at my performance during those races you will see that there hasn’t been a season that I haven’t performed. I have full confidence I can make that step.”
However, if he is unable to find a way into the top class of either the FIA WEC or IMSA in 2024, then remaining in LMP2 is his preference, over a switch to GT3 racing in either FIA WEC LMGT3 or IMSA GTD. For Hanson, LMP2 racing still has an appeal, despite the current cars being seven years old.
“I really enjoy racing the ORECA still,” Hanson said. “The cars change every year. We went from a really fast car in 2020, to a mandated Le Mans kit at every track, to a mandated version of that kit without the front dive plane and the rear rake.
“The tyres have changed throughout too, from a tyre war with Michelin and Goodyear, then a fixed tyre with two compounds. Then we had one compound and now we have one compound with a minimum tyre pressure and no tyre warmers. The power levels have also changed depending on the series and the class system.
“So every year for the last four years there has been an evolution, it’s been four years of changes, and it’s like driving a different car sometimes.
“As for GT3, that route in WEC requires a pro, a silver and a bronze, and there are pros that have been in the GT categories for 7-10 years that know the cars in and out. So, it would be extremely difficult to match the top pro drivers with only a short season. It would require a big step, doing multiple championships to get enough track time.”
The question then is whether or not Hanson would stay with United Autosports, a team that he has competed with since 2018, if he remains in LMP2. At this stage, Hanson is non-committal.
“I am open to anything,” he said. “In an ideal world I would like to stay with United, it’s been my home for many years. But it depends on their plans and how I fit in, and also what other opportunities await me.”
Just five races remain on Hanson’s 2023 schedule, with two WEC races at Fuji and Bahrain, and three ELMS races at Spa-Francorchamps and Portimao. Alongside working on a plan for next season, and remains fully focused on the two title races.
His ELMS title chances were boosted at Aragon, when he won his first race of the season with Marino Sato and Oliver Jarvis. The trio have risen to fourth in the championship, but are just 11 points in the lead with three races to go.
In the FIA WEC, Hanson has more of a mountain to climb. He and his full-season teammate Frederick Lubin sit 28 points off the current leaders with 65 points up for grabs.
“We are quite far behind now, mathematically we are in the hunt, but we won’t win the championship if the top two cars finish second. We need to approach the weekend at Fuji as if we are going to win,” he said.
“Where normally you’d want consistency at the end of a season, we now need to win the races.”
