ByKolles Le Mans Hypercar unlikely to race this year
FIA World Endurance Championship stalwart ByKolles looks unlikely to race in the series this year, despite being on the verge of testing its new Le Mans Hypercar.
Team boss Colin Kolles has revealed that his operation is pushing ahead with the project at its German headquarters even though it opted against entering the full season of the WEC, which announced its 2021 entry list on Thursday.
Read Also:
ByKolles is now effectively on the sidelines for 2021 because race-by-race entries are precluded in the new Hypercar class, which has taken over from LMP1 as the top category of the WEC.
The team stepped down from a full-time campaign with its ENSO CLM P1/01 LMP1 car in 2019/20 and only raced at the Spa and Le Mans 24 Hours rounds as it turned its attention to developing the new LMH machine.
Kolles told Motorsport.com that the new non-hybrid LMH contender, which is powered by a Gibson V8, will be "running very soon" and that the first test is scheduled for February.
Asked why he had opted against making an entry for the car in the WEC, he replied: "We are not happy with some of the things going on with the WEC organisation and that is why we have decided not to enter."

ByKOLLES Project LMH
Photo by: ByKOLLES Racing
Kolles refused to elaborate on his comments. Speculation that the team is unhappy with the level of entry fees for a schedule that has been reduced from last season's eight races to six events in 2021 was neither confirmed nor denied by Kolles.
He insisted that the car, which has yet to be given a name or type number, will race in the future: "It will be racing one day, but we are not under any pressure to race it."
The LMH prototype is part of a three-pronged project at ByKolles: it is developing a track-day car and a 1000bhp hybrid for the road in parallel with the racer.
Kolles explained that the LMH is "90 percent built in house to our design".
He stated that team regulars such as Tom Dillmann and Oliver Webb, as well as Joao Paulo de Oliveira, are potential candidates to give the car a shakedown next month.
Read Also:
ByKolles has been a stalwart of the WEC since the relaunch of the series in 2012.
The team initially raced Lola coupes in LMP2 and then its own design dubbed a Lotus in the secondary prototype division. It then moved up to LMP1 in 2014 with the CLM P1/01, which was powered by AER, Nissan and Gibson engines over its six-season lifespan.

#4 ByKolles Racing Team Enso CLM P1/01 - Gibson: Tom Dillmann, Bruno Spengler, Oliver Webb
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Related video

Previous article
WEC reveals 2021 entry, Glickenhaus names first drivers
Next article
WEC cancels Sebring opener, Portimao named as replacement

About this article
Series | WEC |
Teams | Kolles Racing |
Author | Gary Watkins |
ByKolles Le Mans Hypercar unlikely to race this year
Trending
Ferrari enters LMH from 2023
Peugeot in sportscars
WEC: 2021 Entry list revealed!
WEC: What is a Hypercar?
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing: GR010 HYBRID HYPERCAR
Why Ferrari is ending its 50-year top-flight sportscar racing exile
Making a return to top-flight sportscar racing after 50 years away, Ferrari will enter the Le Mans Hypercar ranks in 2023. The Italian marque denies the link with Formula 1's new cost cap that frees up resources, but it's certainly no coincidence...
The GTE dilemma that IMSA has created for the WEC
The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s decision to scrap its GT Le Mans class for 2022 raises the question of whether the FIA World Endurance Championship should phase out GTE cars. But it's a much harder decision than it appears on the surface.
The ground-up refresh behind Toyota's new Le Mans challenger
Toyota's new GR010 contender for the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar era has little in common with the LMP1 TS050 that preceded it. But within the confines of the scaled back new rules, its latest challenger will be no less formidable a prospect
The tiny increments that decided the final LMP1-era WEC
The system of success handicaps devised by the FIA World Endurance Championship to level the LMP1 playing field in the category's swansong season ended up having a counterproductive effect, as COVID cancellations also played in the champions' favour.
Why Audi’s shock return promises a new age for sportscars
OPINION: The news that Audi will return to Le Mans means we'll at last get to see the fight promised in 2012 against Peugeot and Toyota. It also gives LMDh a tangible form, which could open the floodgates for more like-minded marques to follow suit…
The eternal debate revived after the 2019/20 WEC season
It may have been missed amid the clamour over Lewis Hamilton's seventh F1 title, but Britain had another world champion crowned last weekend. Mike Conway's WEC crown raises an old conundrum - does title glory make up for the pain of Le Mans defeat?
The 10 greatest LMP1 races ranked
As the LMP1 class prepares to bow out of top-line sportscar racing at the World Endurance Championship season finale in Bahrain this weekend, Motorsport.com looks back over the past two decades to pick out the 10 of its best contests
Why COVID-19 didn't stop Peugeot's Le Mans commitment
When the global pandemic hit, Peugeot was given the perfect excuse to back out of its stated intention to return to Le Mans in 2022. That it hasn't done so is telling both of its unfinished business and the opportunities presented by the Hypercar rulebook