Dillmann: Decision to Leave Vanwall Mid-Season “Paid Off”

Tom Dillmann says his decision to quit Vanwall part-way through the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season “paid off” after securing multiple LMP2 drives for the upcoming year.

The Frenchman had been a fixture of the ByKolles-run Vanwall squad since the 2018-19 WEC superseason, and was part of the team’s lineup for the first four races of the 2023 campaign with its new Vandervell 680 Le Mans Hypercar.

However, following the team’s failure to finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Dillmann made the decision to leave Vanwall, missing the final three races.

He made his return to competition in the Asian Le Mans Series with LMP2 team DKR Engineering, and will spend 2024 contesting both the European Le Mans Series and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup with Inter Europol Competition, the latter in partnership with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.

Reflecting on his choice to cut ties with Vanwall, Dillmann felt his efforts with the team hadn’t been fully recognized and is now looking forward to the challenge of his first full season in LMP2 machinery.

“I drove for ByKolles for four seasons, but after Le Mans it was time for a change and try to provoke something,” Dillmann told Sportscar365. 

“I think people don’t realize what I was achieving in the ByKolles, but when I drove the Oreca 07 for the first time [in a private test at Portimao] I was immediately competitive.

“I am really happy because it worked out. I did some LMP2 races a long time ago but never a full championship. It was a risk I took, but it paid off so I am very happy.”

Dillmann has limited LMP2 experience, having contested two WEC races in 2015 for Signatech as well as one for Extreme Speed Motorsports the following season.

But the Sepang Asian Le Mans season opener in early December marked his first time racing the Oreca 07 Gibson that has been the benchmark car in the class since 2017.

Dillmann scored a podium on his race debut in the car alongside DKR teammates Alexander Mattschull and Laurents Hoerr in the opening race at Sepang.

“Obviously the first preference would have been to stay in Hypercar, but I always appreciated the challenge of LMP2, and the fact it is very competitive with a lot of top drivers,” he said.

“It didn’t really matter to me which category, it was more about having a competitive package. This is what I was missing for many years. 

“My goal was to be able to go into a weekend knowing that I have a chance to do a result if we have a good weekend, which I didn’t have before. 

“As a professional you always try to do your best and help the team to get the best result possible, but the reality is that there are no miracles.”

Vanwall’s fortunes failed to improve after Dillmann’s departure, with the eighth place the team scored in the Sebring curtain-raiser standing as its best result of the season.

The Austrian-flagged squad was then passed over for an entry for the 2024 WEC amid the major increase in manufacturer entries in the top Hypercar class.

Asked for his thoughts on Vanwall’s situation, Dillmann replied: “It’s really sad for them because they made a big effort, but I am not surprised. 

“There were many things to do with the car, like the engine (the team had planned to change from Gibson to Pipo Motors power), and it wasn’t ready.”