ByKolles Confident in Vanwall Reliability at “Normal Tracks”

Colin Kolles reckons his Floyd Vanwall Racing Team can be confident in the reliability and pace of its new non-hybrid LMH car at “normal tracks” but has also acknowledged the potential for Sebring to yield a “surprise”.

The Germany-based constructor is gearing up for the race debut of the Vanwall Vandervell 680 at this month’s FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener, which takes place at the bumpy Sebring circuit in Florida.

The Vanwall has not tested at Sebring, although the in-house ByKolles team has the benefit of two official ‘Prologue’ test days one week before the race.

Esteban Guerrieri, Tom Dillmann and Jacques Villeneuve will drive the No. 4 Vanwall, which brings former LMP1 team ByKolles back to the WEC for the first time since 2020.

“Sebring is a very special track and we did not have a test [there],” said team owner Kolles.

“We are confident that we have a reliable package on normal tracks. Sebring will be a surprise, maybe in terms of performance and also in terms of reliability. For us, it’s more [of] a surprise than for others.

“So let’s see what happens in Sebring. I hope we have good racing.

“We do not want just to be there. I think we will have an even playground. This was not the case in the past when manufacturers had a huge advantage against smaller teams or privateer teams in LMP1.

“I think the whole situation is totally different. Basically, we are on the same playground now. The aim has to be to beat the big OEMs.”

ByKolles started the year by working on the homologation of its Gibson V8-powered car, which went through a mandatory wind tunnel test at Sauber last month.

Its track testing program started in April last year with a shakedown at Zweibrucken airfield in Germany, building into more extensive outings at other European circuits including Most, Lausitzring, Mugello, Barcelona and Aragon.

Despite those tests, Guerrieri said there is “not much we can predict” as ByKolles prepares to run the Vandervell 680 in race conditions at the unique Sebring venue.

“The team haven’t raced for a while now,” said the Argentine former touring car driver.

“They have made a new car. It’s a small team with people that work very hard. They try to maximize all the resources that they have.

“But obviously, we have done some days of testing and had some issues and good things. We keep the good things and try to solve the issues.

“To have two days in Sebring before the race is the biggest challenge for us, to find reliability and drive as much as we can. Hopefully, we don’t find many problems.

“If we do, we try to solve them and keep going. There is a big motivation behind it. There is not much we can predict, but hopefully it goes the right way.”

Sebring will be the first WEC race to be held under the championship’s new ban on tire warmers in all classes.

“The more you test, the better it is,” Kolles said on the matter.

“We’ll see what happens in Sebring. It may be a surprise for everyone, also for us. We are taking a very conservative approach to all this.”

The planned Hypercar debut of Floyd Vanwall Racing Team comes against the backdrop of legal proceedings surrounding naming rights to the 1958 Formula 1 constructors’ champion Vanwall.

ByKolles, which holds an International Registration trademark to the Vanwall name, applied to have the European Union trademark of a British company — Sanderson International Marketing — deleted based on a lack of usage.

A ruling by the EU Intellectual Property Office, which Sportscar365 has seen, states that the deletion request has been “partially upheld”, with racing cars being one of the goods categories where Sanderson’s EU trademark continues to be registered.

When asked if his entry will race under the Vanwall banner this year, Kolles replied: “You know what the name of the team is, so there is nothing much to add to it.”

Villeneuve Settling into New Environment

The WEC Prologue will enable 1997 F1 world champion Villeneuve to get further acquainted with the Vandervell 680 after he completed a test at Barcelona in December.

According to Guerrieri, the Canadian has been settling into the team well and recently attended joined the rest of the lineup at ByKolles’s Greding headquarters.

“We spent a nice day [two weeks ago] at the workshop doing the seat fit, all three of us with all the team,” Guerrieri said.

“I just started to get to know him. A very nice personality and very easygoing. He came from a full week [of] training in Austria, so he is back to his motivated days of F1.

“I think it’s very good to have him on board. He’s a champion and a very nice guy, but he’s quick as well, which is what matters in the end.”