Following the successful prologue at Paul Ricard, Austria’s first LMP team, ByKolles RACING is set to take on the world’s finest endurance teams at the FIA World Endurance Championship opener at Silverstone this weekend (10th-12th April).
With former F1 driver Vitantonio (Tonio) Liuzzi (IT) and former GP2 driver Simon Trummer (CH) at the wheel, the CLM P1/01 will be pitted against a field of 31 other cars at the six-hour endurance race on Sunday.
The first leg of the FIA World Endurance Championship represents the first competitive outing this year for the CLM P1/01 and the team have put in a huge amount of work following the prologue to ensure the best setup possible at the 5.89km British track.
The FIA WEC Season 2015 kicked off yesterday (27th March) with the official prologue at the French circuit Paul Ricard. Austrian LMP team, ByKOLLES RACING, clocked up approximately 1,100km with the CLM P1/01 over the course of the two day test making the most of the opportunity to gather important data ahead of the official season opener at Silverstone in two weeks time.
With ByKOLLES RACING team drivers Simon Trummer (CH), Vitantonio (Tonio) Liuzzi (IT) and Pierre Kaffer (DE) behind the wheel, the CLM P1/01 covered approximately 700km on Friday and 500km today at the 5.8km Le Castellet track. By carefully analysing the data collected, the team can now focus on the best possible race set-up and strategy for the all important race ahead.
Despite never having driven at the track, Simon Trummer, adapted to both the new circuit and the car quickly and made huge progress throughout the duration of the test. “It was a real challenge driving at Paul Ricard and at the beginning I had to adjust to the car and a new track route”, said the young Swissman. “The start of the season is always hard when you’ve had a break from the track. The second test in the afternoon was considerably better and I got into a great rhythm with the car.”
ByKOLLES RACING, run and entered by KOAL Racing Engineering, is delighted to unveil the 2015 LMP1 race car livery for the first Austrian registered LMP Team to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The striking white and yellow livery (seen here on the 2014 CLM P1/01 test car) is in part a tribute to ByKOLLES RACING’s lead partners, Austrian-based sports sponsorship company YELLOWWINGS. The exciting new enterprise opens up the world of big name sports sponsorship like never before with a unique digital platform offering unparalleled access.
Alongside YELLOWWINGS, ByKOLLES RACING would like to formerly welcome new partner Jacques Lemans as official watch sponsor of the team. Additional team partners include: Michelin, BBS, PMC, OMP, LINEAPP, Pitwalk, AER and Martini Sportswear.
TEAM BYKOLLES RACING ENTRY TO FIA WEC 2015 SEASON CONFIRMED AND THE 83RD EDITION OF THE LEGENDARY 24 HOUR OF LE MANS
Team ByKOLLES Racing participation in the FIA World Endurance Championship 2015 was yesterday confirmed by the FIA. With a full field of 35 cars, 21 of which are set to compete in the LMP category, Team ByKOLLES Racing will contest the LMP1 class with the CLM P1/01 bearing the race number 4, alongside ten other cars.
Commenting on the announcement, Team ByKOLLES Racing Director of Operations, Boris Bermes said: “We’re very pleased that everything has now been made official. We’ve been extremely focussed throughout the winter season on producing the best package we can for this year. I know that we are up against some very well respected and well funded teams and whilst we may be small, we are also smart and strong and we’re very serious about this opportunity. We will do our fans proud, I have no doubt about that.”
ByKOLLES Racing, is pleased to announce its entry application in the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship including the legendary 24 hours of Le Mans in LMP 1 with the newly developed 2015 CLM P1.
The team’s endurance division has been competing in motorsport for over 14 years and has a wealth of experience and knowledge gained from successful participation in WEC, F1, DTM and other formula series.
With a new gear box, new front and rear suspension, aerodynamic modifications and performance upgrades throughout, including significant weight reductions, the team have made real progress on the CLM P1.
Commenting on the season ahead, ByKOLLES Director of Operations, Boris Bermes said: “We learnt a lot last year, we faced many challenges but we made very good progress against the odds however we were aware that significant improvements needed to be made for the 2015 season. The team has worked hard since the end of least season to produce, what I believe to be a highly competitive car. As always, I’m cautiously optimistic about this year but let’s see what testing brings.”
