Williams team principal James Vowles will race in the Gulf 12 Hours at the Garage 59, following next month’s F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Vowles regularly gets behind the wheel himself, but has not raced competitively since 2022, when he was also part of Garage 59 in the Asian Le Mans Series. After taking over at Williams at the start of 2023, Vowles has focused more on the F1 team’s lead role, but has been testing at Garage 59 all year and will now race at the Yas Marina Circuit on December 14.
Vowles will share a McLaren GT3 EVO with Alexander West, Mark Sansom and Marco Pulcini.
“The opportunity to put on a racing helmet again is something I enjoy,” said Vowles. “Garage 59 is a team I know well from our time together in 2022, and the Gulf 12 Hours is a fantastic event with a competitive grid. It will be a pleasure to share the car with Alex, Mark and Marco, and to experience racing from the driver’s seat again.”
Vowles will have his own team boss to deal with for his return to racing, but Andrew Kirkaldy said the Williams boss has a unique perspective on each race given his background at Mercedes.
“We thoroughly enjoyed working with James during the 2022 Asian Le Mans campaign,” said Kirkaldy. “His approach and professionalism, and of course his knowledge of strategy, made it a very enjoyable partnership. Bringing him back for the Gulf 12 Hours is something we are all excited about, and we look forward to seeing what we can achieve together in Abu Dhabi.”
Vowles’ participation in the Gulf 12 Hours follows other recent F1 involvement in the race, after Kevin Magnussen competed alongside father Jan in the 2022 edition at the same venue, finishing seventh overall.
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