Richard Dean ready for step up as Wakefield's United Autosports gun for 24 Hours of Le Mans glory

As the co-owner of Wakefield’s United Autosports and a former driver, he has won the race in different capacities over the course of his 13 visits.

What started as a dalliance in the 1990s has blossomed into a passionate relationship and the endurance event is still proving as intoxicating as ever.

“By Sunday night of race day, everybody in the team swears they're never going to do it again,” Dean, 58, told The Yorkshire Post. “It really takes every last ounce out of you.

"There's something strangely addictive. You tend to always go back for more. You get a couple of nights of sleep and you're looking at the date in your diary for the following year. Once the pain disappears, you end up coming back again.”

United, humbly stationed in the West Yorkshire town of Normanton, are heading to Le Mans for an eighth consecutive year. For the first time, they will be entering four cars in the race, with two in the LMP2 class and two in the LMGT3.

A gruelling endurance event, cars race for 24 hours as drivers take turns and look to cover the most distance. The event is steeped in history, immortalised in cinema, meaning United’s drivers are walking a path trodden by legends.

United’s yearly schedule is a busy one and Le Mans is far from their only fish in the fryer. However, it is the one circled most emphatically in calendars when a new year comes around.

“Every race we win seems like the most important race at the time,” Dean explained. “There are probably two or three standout ones on the calendar.

"The reason they stand out is because they're steeped in history. We've got the 24 Hours of Daytona, you don't need to be involved in motor racing to have heard of Daytona. There's another race in America, Sebring 12 Hours.

"If you're into sports car racing, if you're into endurance racing, those two stand out. Le Mans probably edges it. It's the one on the calendar everybody looks at at the start of the year.

"It's the one that takes the most preparation. It's the one that takes the most out of everybody as a team. And it's probably the most rewarding – as an achievement, financial from sponsorship and notoriety, and business opportunities it creates. Le Mans is probably number one.”

United last tasted victory at Le Mans in 2020, when the trio of Filipe Albuquerque, Paul di Resta and Phil Hanson secured top billing on the podium.

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The circumstances will be different this year, with a sell-out crowd watching on instead of staff in surgical masks.

It will therefore present Dean and his extensive team an opportunity to fly the flag for Wakefield in front of a horde of engrossed spectators.

“I understand it's unusual for a Yorkshire team to be flying the flag at such a prestigious event like Le Mans,” he said. “It does give me great pride. There are 62 places on the grid, that's actually increased fairly recently.

“When you actually look at the racing teams around the world, never mind in the UK alone, the rest of the teams around the world in every country that have motorsport as a national series, sports car racing, GT racing, endurance racing, everybody, it's the jewel in the crown.

"Everybody wants to but not everybody gets the chance to do it. When there's hundreds of applications for a place on the grid from teams, the fact we're in our eighth consecutive year, is an achievement in itself.

"When you have the opportunity to sit back and say 'it's one of the world's biggest, often people say it's the world's toughest race', it is a lot of pride to take part as a Yorkshire team in such an iconic event.”

They may continue to be impressed by it, but United’s team cannot afford to be sucked in by the splendour of the competition.

The team do not plan to merely represent Wakefield with their presence, instead targeting an emulation of their 2020 feat.

“Clearly we don't want to go there to compete and say we've taken part,” Dean said. “We want to go and win.

“This will be the first time for our team that we have four cars in the race, two in the LMGT3 category, two in the LMP2 category. It's a big step up for us but I feel well-prepared.

"The quality in the team is really high, across all the engineering, performance-related, right through to the backroom staff that have put the event together.

"This year, we've been running at the front. We've been running at the front for the last eight years. I always fancy our chances of winning and this year is no different. I think we can win.”