Vowles Embracing New Challenges with Garage 59 Drive

James Vowles says a willingness to ‘push himself into discomfort and learn new skills’ has motivated him to contest this weekend’s Gulf 12 Hours with Garage 59 as he returns to sports car racing for the first time in more than three years.

Vowles, who is best known as the team principal for the Williams Formula 1 team, is driving the No. 8 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo alongside Alexander West, Marco Pulcini and Mark Sansom.

The Abu Dhabi event marks Vowles’ first sports car appearance since the 2022 Asian Le Mans Series season, when he drove for Garage 59 alongside Manuel Maldonado and Nicolai Kjaergaard.

At that time, Vowles had just been appointed team principal at Williams. The 46-year-old told Sportscar365 that he wasn’t willing to commit to a GT3 return until the F1 team was “in a solid place” having been at the helm of a significant revival for the British squad.

“What’s probably worth doing is winding back from that, which is, ‘Why am I doing this?’” said Vowles. “Because it seems like an odd thing to do. There’s enough racing in my life. There’s sort of several things.

“One, I did GT3 racing in Asian Le Mans with this team and I loved it. I learnt a lot from it.

“It was the first time I did night racing, first time I did live driver changes, first time I did endurance racing and live pit stops, all brilliant things to learn and put on your resume.

“As I transitioned to Williams, I wanted Williams to be in a solid place so that I could afford to take a week out of it and really focus on something else. So that’s number one.

“Number two is I like aspirational events that give you something to look forward to and pull yourself forward to.

“I’ve been probably training for five months now. Lost five kilos, put on quite a bit of muscle and it’s what you need to be GT3 racing.

“I like events like that that give you that pull and that grab. And then number three is not for a second do I think I’m a racing driver.

“I work with the best in the world, there’s literally no other statement to that.

“But what it does do is give you a really good connection with them because you understand a lot more about what they’re going through hour by hour and day by day.

“You understand a lot more about how honestly lonely it is in the car by yourself at that stage and how the responsibility of the team comes into it.

“And that for me is why I do it. Connection with the drivers, even if it’s just a little bit more, absolutely helps you.”

Vowles completed a multi-day test program with Garage 59 ahead of his racing return, driving at Navarro and Jerez with the support of Tom Fleming, who was recently announced to be part of the team’s FIA World Endurance Championship LMGT3 lineup.

“He was with me in Spain and he was the one that’s here and we’ve swapped roles,” said Vowles. “His role is to be the engineer and the coach and I love it. It gives me insight through a different perspective.

“I’m not here to be an engineer, I’m not here to do any more than do what I’m told, get in the car, drive it as quick as I can.

“But I like that because, again, I’m doing this to push yourself into discomfort and learn new skills.”

Vowles turned his first laps in the No. 8 McLaren during Friday’s pair of open sessions, with three further Free Practice sessions and qualifying on offer across a packed Saturday.

“Yesterday I did 15 laps, and about this morning’s session it was back to within a few tenths, which is what I wanted,” said Vowles.

“But the key thing is it’s not the number of laps, at least with me, it’s the overnight.

“It’s the ability to reflect on what you’ve done, look at the data, and then come back fresh. And I’m pretty happy now, I’m confident.”