Williams team principal James Vowles will swap the pit wall for a GT3 car once the Formula 1 season concludes in Abu Dhabi. The Briton is set to participate in the GT race, the Gulf 12 Hours, which takes place a week after the Abu Dhabi GP at the Yas Marina Circuit. Vowles is looking forward to it: ‘I’m really excited.’
This won’t be the first time James Vowles has taken the wheel of a GT car. Last September, around the same time as Max Verstappen‘s racing debut on the Nordscheife, the Briton tested a McLaren GT3 car in Spain. In 2022, Vowles also competed in the Asian Le Mans Series. After his two test days in Spain, the Briton ‘warned’ that ‘this certainly won’t be the last time’, and he’s now making good on that promise in Abu Dhabi.
GT Race in Abu Dhabi
Once Formula 1 departs from Abu Dhabi on December 7, the Williams team principal will stay behind. A week after the end of the Formula 1 season, the Briton will participate in the Gulf 12 Hours race at the Yas Marina Circuit. Vowles will team up with the 2024 winner of the race, Alexander West, and GT Open drivers Mark Sansom and Marco Pulcini. Together, the quartet will drive the McLaren 720S GT3 of Garage 59 racing team.
“I’m really looking forward to putting on a racing helmet again,” Vowles tells The Race. “Garage 59 is a team I know well from our collaboration in 2022. The Gulf 12 Hours is a fantastic event with a competitive field. It will be great to be in the car with Alex, Mark, and Marco and to be able to race from the driver’s seat again.”
