For a team so used to contending for race victories and championships, the 2025 European Le Mans Series season was a difficult one for United Autosports, as its flagship #22 ORECA 07 – Gibson, competing for overall honours in the LMP2 category, failed to register a top-five finish on its way to a lowly 12th in the standings.
12 months later, and the picture could not look more different.
The addition of Griffin Peebles alongside Ben Hanley and Gregoire Saucy has contributed to a dramatic turnaround, with two wins, five podiums and a season-low finish of fourth, seeing the Yorkshire-based operation win its second LMP2 Championship by a comfortable 27-point margin.
18-year-old Peebles, who is in his first year of LMP2 racing, has undoubtedly emerged as one of this season’s breakout stars. His performances earned him recognition at the end-of-season ELMS awards gala, where the Australian received ‘Performance of the Year’ and the LMP2 Goodyear Gold Wingfoot Award, as well as his LMP2 Drivers’ Champion trophy.
Peebles’ LMP2 journey began in the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter, when he raced for DKR Engineering, and concluded the six-round campaign with an eye-catching run to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi as he brought the #3 ORECA home for an upset victory.
This momentum was then carried into an ELMS season which has seen the #22 United ORECA reestablish itself as the class of the field. Alongside the car’s results, Peebles’ personal statistics make for impressive reading; one highlight being that in five out of six races, he handed over the car to his teammates at the front of the field.
This has given the Australian the opportunity to develop several skills, especially related to race management.
“Learning the racing in a different category, going from LMP3 to LMP2, and controlling races from the front and managing more traffic, they’ve been the big learning factors for me,” Peebles tells DSC.
“This year has been doing all the starts and all of the first two stints, so it’s been about managing the traffic, helping the team in any way I can and giving them a big advantage going into the second half of the races. So whether that’s getting to the front or building a gap, what the team needs is what I’m doing.”
The 18-year-old has, in contrast with his year in LMP3, benefitted from sharing a car with experienced professionals this year. Both Hanley and Saucy are now LMP2 veterans, whilst few drivers have more experience in the secondary prototype category than his Asian Le Mans Series co-driver Mathias Beche.
“Learning through every race and from my teammates within the team has been very helpful,” Peebles says.
“Every session I’m always learning from them. They’re giving me pointers and ways to improve in all aspects of the racing. So they’ve been very helpful, and Mathias Beche from Asia was also really helpful. Everyone from United has helped me a lot through this change. I think we’ve worked quite well together.”
After a podium in the ELMS season-opening 4 Hours of Barcelona, United’s title prospects were certified with victory at the following round at Le Castellet.
“Paul Ricard was a good race for us, batting from a podium in Barcelona,” reflects Peebles.
“We were very fast, and I pulled a nice lead at the start, even though it was taken away by the Safety Car. But we had very good pace, and we all did our jobs and got the win there. It really helped us in the championship, so I think that was a really good turning point for us.”
From there, the #22 ORECA never trailed in points, and consistency meant the Anglo-American effort entered last weekend’s season finale at Portimão with a 13-point lead and the knowledge that a podium finish would guarantee the title.
The advantage of this championship buffer wasn’t relied upon, however, with United Autosports never headed throughout the four-hour race after Saucy scored a sensational pole position during Friday evening’s qualifying session.
“We couldn’t have asked for more of a perfect weekend, to be honest,” Peebles admits.
“We had a great car from when we rolled off in Practice, and Gregoire did a great qualifying lap, giving me pole so I could control the start myself and control the pace during the first half of the race. I built a nice gap to give to Gregoire, and the car was amazing. We were as quick as everyone on track, so we just managed the gap until the end, and we had a nice green race to keep the gap there.”
Peebles’ double-stint was complete with over two and a half hours remaining, leaving the Australian in the unenviable position of watching on from the garage, knowing his Drivers’ Championship prospects were now entirely out of his control.
“It was a little stressful at times, hoping for it to be green and no issues to happen, as we had around a 10-second gap which almost stayed the same the entire stint,” he says.
“The team executed perfectly. They did an amazing job this weekend, as well as the whole season. No issues from our side, and a perfect weekend to end the season.”
This stress was finally relieved shortly after 18:30 local time last Saturday at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, as no sting in the tail came, and Hanley brought the #22 ORECA safely across the line for championship glory.
“It’s an amazing feeling!” the Peebles exclaims.
“We were obviously just waiting to see the car cross the line first before we did any celebrations. Didn’t want to celebrate too early, but the release is amazing. We did get lucky at times this season, but we were very consistent, put ourselves in good positions, capitalised on things that happened around us, and executed perfectly.”
Looking to the future, the 18-year-old is in no rush to fast-track his way up the sportscar ladder, with time very much still on his side.
“I plan to do ELMS again next year, and maybe some longer races to gain more experience with those multiple stints,” he states. “So maybe Daytona and the races in IMSA, as well as maybe Le Mans next year.”
Images courtesy of United Autosports, Asian Le Mans Series and David Lord
