When Job Van Uitert arrived in the European Le Mans Series in 2018, the 19-year-old Dutch driver certainly got a lot of attention.
Racing in LMP3 for RLR MSport alongside John Farano and Rob Garofall, Job took two victories at Le Castellet and Red Bull Ring and secured the LMP3 title in his debut season.
In 2019 Job Van Uitert progressed to LMP2 with G-Drive Racing alongside Roman Rusinov and Norman Nato for two races and Jean-Eric Vergne for four. Two more victories and a second-place finish followed, finishing second overall at the end of the season.
A switch to United Autosports in the teams no32 Oreca-Gibson saw Job Van Uitert, Will Owen and Alex Brundle take victory at Le Castellet and finish in the Vice Champions position behind their United Autosports teammates Filipe Albuquerque and Phil Hanson.
For his third LMP2 season Job Van Uitert returns in the no32 United Autosports Oreca with two new teammates, Nicolas Jamin and Manuel Maldonado, with the Dutch drivers sight firmly set on the LMP2 title in 2021. We caught up with him as he prepares for his fourth ELMS season.
Job, welcome back to the European Le Mans Series for your third season in LMP2.What are the main reasons that makes the ELMS a series that you, as a driver, want to compete in?
JVU: “Thank you! It’s great to be back again in ELMS. The past three seasons have been a lot of fun with great racing. ELMS is currently one of the toughest endurance championships out there. The level in LMP2 is really high with many top-notch drivers in it. I always want to compete against the best, and to do that at some of Europe’s best tracks, made me want to come back to the ELMS again!”
You are racing with United Autosports again, but this year it will be with new teammates. What do you know about Nico Jamin and Manuel Maldonado?
JVU: “I’ve known Nico Jamin for a long time. We get along with each other very well and Nico is a very exciting driver. I always had great fights with him, so let’s see how we fight together this year. Manuel is still very new to endurance racing and LMP2 will be a big step up for him, but we will try to give him everything he needs to get used to this new world of motorsport as soon as possible. And on the basis of what we’ve seen so far, I think Manuel will surprise a lot of us this year.”
LMP2 is ultra-competitive, with 16 full season entries this year. After winning the LMP3 title in 2018 and finishing second overall in LMP2 in 2019 and 2020, is there only one goal for yourself and for the team this year?
JVU: “Yes. I want to win! I don’t want to settle for second again… Obviously, you never know in motorsport and there are many factors you cannot control. But we will give it our all and do the best job possible but winning is definitely the goal!”
We are heading to Barcelona for the opening race of the season. What are your favourite parts of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya?
JVU: “My favourite part of Barcelona is T7-8 and 9. I like the flowing nature of the track there and T9 is a very fast corner. And I like fast corners.”
Of the six events on the 2021 ELMS calendar, which one are you looking forward to the most and why?
JVU: “I’m mostly looking forward to go back to Red Bull Ring. We won there in 2018 with RLR MSport in the LMP3, so I’ve got some good memories. The elevation, fast corners and beautiful scenery makes it one of my favourite tracks in Europe. Can’t wait to tackle it in a LMP2 car!”
The opening round of the 2021 European Le Mans Series will be the 4 Hours of Barcelona on the 16-18April.
