Colin Kolles (Vanwall Racing): "We'll all be on the same playground, which was not the case in LMP1"

If some still doubt it, we will see the Vandervell 680 Vanwall at the start of the 1000 miles of Sebring on March 17th, and this despite the legal complications that remain behind the scenes. The car is due to be homologated this week before heading to Florida. And it was no coincidence that LMEM invited Colin Kolles to attend a video conference attended by all the manufacturers' team principals involved in the Hypercar category apart from Antonello Coletta (Ferrari), who was unavailable.

➡️ Colin Kolles : "The Vanwall, Vandervell, “V” logo trademarks are ours"

The first question to Colin Kolles concerned the ambitions of his team, which will be supervised by Boris Bermes, as it was the case for the ByKolles Racing team. And for good reason, according to the drivers (Tom Dillmann, Esteban Guerrieri and Jacques Villeneuve), the car has a promising potential.

"We want to be competitive," replied the former Caterham F1 Team owner firmly. "There's nothing more to say. We do not want just to be there. I think we'll all be on the same playground, which was not the case in LMP1 in the past. The manufacturers had a huge advantage over the private teams and I think the whole situation is totally different. As we are on the same playground now, the aim has to be to beat the OEMs".

If some are worried about the level of reliability and preparation of his troops, he doesn't seem to be overly concerned. "We'll see what happens at Sebring", he continued. ''It might be a surprise for everyone. Sebring is a very special track and we did not have a test there yet. We are confident we have a reliable package for normal tracks, but Sebring will be a surprise maybe in terms of performance and reliability. For us it’s more of a surprise than for others."

But as he rightly states, his approach is "very conservative". And for good reason, just as Glickenhaus - who proposed a reliable car from the outset – he decided to go without a hybrid system. As for the engine, it is the naturally-aspirated Gibson GK458 4.5-litre V8 derived from the one used in the LMP2 cars and which has been seen in the Rebellion R13 / Alpine A480 as well as in his Enso CLM P1/01

Apart from its performance, the Floyd Vanwall Racing Team will also be in the news thanks to a crew that includes Frenchman Tom Dillmann, Argentinean Esteban Guerrieri and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, who will be back at the 24 Hours of Le Mans after his two first experiences with Peugeot Sport in 2007 and 2008.

"To be honest, it's more or less a coincidence," says Colin Kolles regarding the presence of Villeneuve in his crew. "We've known each other for many years, from Formula 1, and we came into contact through a common friend. He seemed to be very interested in going racing again for a whole season. So we organize this test in Barcelona and invited him to see if he enjoys the car. And as he did, we we tried to find a way forward to sign him and and to go on... To have a driver who has won Formula 1, IndyCar and the Indy 500 is very positive for us, for the WEC, for everyone..."

Even if Jacques would have been really impressive when he tested the Alpine F1 last year, "it will be a a tough and long way because, obviously, he had not so much mileage in the car" Kolles said. "But we have the Prologue in Sebring. We are planning to give him a lot of mileage, or the most possible mileage, and we'll see how it develops just as a follow-on to that".

Kolles who also confirmed that Joao Paulo de Oliveira was still close to the team even if he won't be in this first line-up.