Richard Antony Dean is a former British Racing Driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans GT2 class in 2006.[1] In 2010, Richard Dean founded the sports car racing team United Autosports with Zak Brown.[2]

Racing career

Early career

Richard Dean started his competitive racing career in karts as a teenager.[3] In 1985, Richard progressed to car racing in Formula Ford 1600.[3] After multiple seasons in FF1600[4] with multiple race wins,[5] and finishing sixth in the 1987 Formula Ford Festival,[6] he moved up to contest the 1989 British F3 Championship.[4] 1990 saw a move to Formula 3000 for the next two seasons, scoring top 6 results in the International F3000 series[7] and winning the Oulton Park Gold Cup race in the 1990 British F3000 series with Cobra Motorsport.[7]

Japan

In 1992, Richard Dean moved to Japan, prompted by the offer of a test by the LeMans company in F3.[8] He stayed in Japan until 1995, racing in F3, F300, GT, and Touring Cars.[8] Following the test, Richard Dean raced with Team LeMans in the 1993 Formula 3 Japan and 1994 All-Japan GT Championship.[4] In 1994, he raced with Tomei Sport Open in the Formula 3 Macau GP and Formula 3 Japan, placing 4th.[4] In the same year, he raced with Team 5Zigen in the 1994 Formula 3000 Japan.[4] In his final year of racing in Japan, 1995, Richard Dean contested the Japanese Touring Car Championship with Trans Global.[4] Tom Kristensen, the most successful Lemans driver in history, was also racing in Japan at that time and became an acquaintance of Dean.[8]

1996-2006

After returning to Europe, Dean won the 1996 Dunlop Rover Turbo Cup[9] scoring 9 wins in 16 races and winning the title by more than 100 points.[10] In 1998 he won the British GT Championship driving an Oreca prepared Dodge Viper[11] In 1999, Dean began racing in the American Le Mans Series – firstly in the prototype class (1999), then the GT class (2000 & 2002), LMP900 class (2001) and GT2 class (2005 & 2006).[4] Dean also raced in the European Le Mans Series in 2001.[4] In 2006, Dean came second in the GT2 team championship standings with Team LNT.[4]

24 Hours of Le Mans

The same year, in 2006, Dean won the 24 Hours of Le Mans GT2 class.[12] He was racing with fellow British co-drivers Lawrence Tomlinson and Tom Kimber-Smith as part of Team LNT.[1] Dean started the race ninth-in-class and 24 hours later took the checkered flag first-in-class.[13] Dean and the team made history that day as the only car to have beaten a Porsche in the GT2 class at Le Mans.[13] Dean raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice more, both with Team LNT. In 2007, he placed 5th in the GT class while in 2009, the team had a DNF.

United Autosports

In 2009, Richard Dean and long-term friend Zak Brown founded United Autosports,[2] an Anglo-American motorsport race team and business based in West Yorkshire, UK.[12]

In the early years, Dean and Brown raced for United Autosports.[14] The team’s first race was in the 2010 British GT Championship at Oulton Park.[14] They had a two-car entry, with Mike Guasch and Mark Patterson in the #22 car and Richard Dean and Zak Brown in the #23 car.[14] The same year, United Autosports entered the 2010 Spa 24 Hours. Dean, together with co-drivers Zak Brown, Eddie Cheever and Mark Blundell, placed third in the GT3 class.[15]

United Autosports is now a championship-winning sports car racing team,[16] competing in sports prototype and GT categories across the world including the European Le Mans Series,[17] World Endurance Championship,[16] Asian Le Mans Series[18] and GT4 European Series.[19]

In 2020, United Autosports became the first team to win three prestigious endurance accolades in the same year – the European Le Mans Series, World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (LMP2 class).[20]

United Autosports also has a dedicated historic team who race in classic events around the world including the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion,[21] Silverstone Classic,[22] Velocity Invitational[23] and Estoril Classic.[24] Richard Dean has raced at a number of these events in cars from Zak Brown’s personal collection.[25]

Personal life

Richard Dean lives in Yorkshire with his wife, former professional tennis player Alice Mackenzie,[26] and dogs.[27]

He is the son of former racing driver Tony Dean[28] and he has one daughter, Ashleigh, who was born in 1992.

References

  1. 1 2 "Richard Dean - Prize list & statistics". 24h-lemans.com.
  2. 1 2 "United Autosports parades former British Grand Prix race winner in Silverstone classic". www.motorsport.com.
  3. 1 2 Magazine, Speedsport. "Richard Dean: Racedriver biography - career and success". www.speedsport-magazine.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Richard Dean | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com.
  5. ↑ "Motorsport Winners". motorsportwinners.com.
  6. ↑ "Formula Ford Festival 1987 standings | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com.
  7. 1 2 "Richard Dean • Career & Character Info | Motorsport Database". Motorsport Database - Motor Sport Magazine.
  8. 1 2 3 "Richard Dean: Memories of Racing in Japan". www.fiawec.com.
  9. ↑ "1996 Miscellaneous Championship Results". www.dlg.speedfreaks.org.
  10. ↑ "Feature: Rover Tomcats". Retrieved 26 August 2023 – via PressReader.
  11. ↑ "Privilege Insurance British GT Championship - GT2 1998 standings | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com.
  12. 1 2 "Le Mans is motor-sport's holy grail and title could be heading back to Wakefield". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. 21 August 2021.
  13. 1 2 "dailysportscar.com". www.dailysportscar.com.
  14. 1 2 3 "British GT Oulton Park 2010 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars".
  15. ↑ "Spa 24 Hours 2010 - Race Results - Racing Sports Cars".
  16. 1 2 Autosports, United. "United Autosports Confirmed As Fia World Endurance Lmp2 Champions At Bahrain". United Autosports.
  17. ↑ Autosports, United. "United Autosports Win Third European Le Mans Series Lmp3 Championship". United Autosports.
  18. ↑ Autosports, United. "United Autosports Win 2021 Asian Le Mans Series LMP3 Championship With 1-2-3 Podium Lockout". United Autosports.
  19. ↑ Autosports, United. "UNITED AUTOSPORTS 2021 EUROPEAN GT4 CHAMPIONS IN SEASON FINALE". United Autosports.
  20. ↑ "Weekly News Round-up". www.fiawec.com.
  21. ↑ Autosports, United. "CALIFORNIA DREAMING: ZAK BROWN AND UNITED AUTOSPORTS GET READY FOR MONTEREY CAR WEEK". United Autosports.
  22. ↑ Autosports, United. "United Autosports Parades Former British Grand Prix Race Winner In Silverstone Classic". United Autosports.
  23. ↑ "Exciting historic race calendar for United Autosports to end the year - automobilsport.com". www.automobilsport.com.
  24. ↑ "Ex-Williams team manager Stanford joins United Autosports". 5 October 2020.
  25. ↑ Autosports, United. "United Autosports Makes Annual Forray To Monterey Historic Racing Festival". United Autosports.
  26. ↑ "Tour History".
  27. ↑ Autosports, United. "About United Autosports | Global Motorsport Company". United Autosports.
  28. ↑ Racing, VSC (30 September 2015). "IndyCar Legend Danny Sullivan Joins Zak Brown, Richard Dean and United Autosports for the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona presented by IMSA". VSC Racing.
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