BRITISH YOUNGSTER JOINS UNITED AUTOSPORTS' 2011 FIA GT3 EURO CAMPAIGN

“Sister” Audi R8 LMS entry remains unchanged for Zak Brown and Matt BellAudi’s only official Anglo-American “customer” team determined to build on maiden 2010 season

Exciting young British sportscar prospect Joe Osborne has been snapped up by the Anglo-American United Autosports team for a full FIA GT3 European Championship campaign next year.

Osborne, aged 21, embarks on his first full GT3 season next May* after sporadic outings in British GT4 and FIA GT3 Euro this year. He will co-drive an Audi R8 LMS with Mark Patterson, the American who tied equal second with 2010 United Autosports co-driver Michael Guasch (USA) in the FIA championship’s Audi Manufacturer's Cup.

Meanwhile United Autosports’ Chairman & Co-Owner Zak Brown (USA) continues for a second consecutive year driving the “sister” Audi with Matthew Bell, the Briton who celebrated his 21st birthday last month (Nov 5).

Osborne won the 2004 British Junior Kart TKM Championship before moving in to single-seaters courtesy of a scholarship from Formula BMW UK but budget constraints obliged Joe to switch his attention to sports cars, winning the European GT4 Championship last year.

Joe, who was made a British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star in 2009, made his FIA GT3 European Championship début this year, contesting three rounds and recording two top-five finishes (Silverstone & Jarama) in a Porsche 911 GT3R.

United Autosports has already announced a two-car Audi entry in the 2011 British GT Championship with Bell and Guasch linking up with Audi’s former British Touring Car Championship race winner John Bintcliffe (England) co-driving with fellow Yorkshireman Jay Palmer (England). Draper Tools will be a team partner for both the FIA and BGT campaigns.