Merchants joins forces with UK championship-winning motorsport team to expand global fleet presence
HOOKSETT, N.H., Jan. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Merchants Fleet, the nation’s fastest growing fleet management company, today announced its sponsorship of United Autosports, one of Britain’s leading endurance motorsport teams.
The new sponsorship underscores Merchants’ dedication to excellence for its employees and clients throughout North America. Endurance is a driving theme for the company and aligns with United Autosports’ world-class record of speed, strength and agility as winners of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Zak Brown, Brendan P. Keegan, Richard Dean
United Autosports
In 2021 Merchants became a sponsor of the McLaren Extreme E Team, an all-electric, off-road international racing event that provides the world’s first gender-equal motorsport platform. In 2022 Merchants’ Chairman, CEO & President Brendan P. Keegan, joined United Autosports on the Investor Advisory Board as a co-owner, in addition to being the Merchants Chairman, CEO & President. A life-long racing enthusiast, Keegan seized the opportunity to collaborate with a team of like-minded racing professionals who share in his commitment to leadership and teamwork.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Merchants to elevate our Endurance theme, by partnering with a championship-winning team,” said Keegan. “At the core of it all is our shared passion for great racing, and a commitment to driving enduring results through innovative leadership. It is an honor to join Zak Brown and Richard Dean as part of this powerhouse team.”
Founded in 2010 by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown, and former Le Mans champion Richard Dean, United Autosports is a globally renowned motorsports organization that operates a championship-winning race team, a historic racing division, historic car restoration services, a broad merchandise portfolio, and supplier partnerships with AERO, Schuberth and HRX.
United Autosports has raced successfully in championships across the globe, winning the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2020, along with the European Le Mans Series LMP2 title the same year, making them the first team to have ever won all three in the same year. The team have also won the European Le Mans Series LMP3 Championship three times as well as both the LMP2 and LMP3 Asian Le Mans Series Championships.
“Brendan’s leadership and innovation is a valuable asset to the team as we navigate to the next stage of our business journey,” said Zak Brown. “Together with Merchants Fleet, we’re looking forward to a successful season of racing in 2023.”
Richard Dean added “It is an exciting time for United Autosports – we are feeling positive for the future as we continue to grow and add strength through quality appointments to our team. Our big challenge for 2023 is to win back our World Championship and Le Mans 24 Hour titles.”
About Merchants FleetMerchants Fleet is North America’s fastest growing fleet management company, enabling the movement of people, goods and services freely and responsibly. From flexible funding, fleet acquisition and fleet management to vehicle remarketing, fleet consulting, fleet electrification, and the power of cloud-based fleet management platform TotalView®, Merchants serves as a single source for all fleet and mobility needs across more than 20 unique industries. Merchants is headquartered in New England, has its Innovation Center in the Chicago area, and serves fleet clients of all sizes throughout North America. Learn more at www.MerchantsFleet.com.
About United Autosports:United Autosports is one of the largest endurance motorsport teams in the UK, based in Yorkshire and founded by McLaren CEO Zak Brown and former racing driver Richard Dean. Originally starting out in GT racing, United Autosports has since branched out into sportscar prototypes, racing in numerous championships around the world with a range of cars and drivers including Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris and Paul di Resta. The team are multiple race and championship winners, and they also restore and maintain a vast range of rare historic cars including iconic Formula One cars.
SOURCE Merchants Fleet
