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Vanwall's aims to compete in the 2026/27 season of the Asian Le Mans Series (AsLMS) remain, according to team boss Colin Kolles.
Only Endurance first reported on Vanwall's intentions to compete in AsLMS with its 680 Hypercar back in June, with the team now further signaling this is still the case.
Phil Oakley
"The careful performance analysis from our initial WEC campaign clearly identified important areas to improve," said Kolles in a press release.
"I am confident the actions taken following the technical review and the latest modifications incorporated will bring significant on-track improvement.
Vanwall first competed with its 680 Hypercar in WEC in 2023. However, as the car was significantly down on power it was often off the pace, due to its 4.-5 litre Gibson V8 engine being down on power by as much as 80hp.
The car has not raced since the end of the 2023 WEC season. But, Vanwall have been working on upgrades and changes to the car since then, the main one being a change to the 3.5-litre twin turbo Pipo engine which also powered the Glickenhaus 007.
Kolles told Only Endurance in June that the car would race in AsLMS with the original Gibson engine. But, this plan appears to have changed with the Pipo unit now installed in the car. It is not clear whether the car has been homologated with the new engine.
Furthermore, Kolles also said there is an intention to return to WEC in 2027.
"We have had very constructive discussions with the WEC and ACO regarding rejoining the WEC in 2027 but as always participation is dependent on the team being invited to compete.
“Our support for the new 2026 [Asian Le Mans] Hypercar category is a clear statement of our intent and commitment to the future."
In June, Kolles said to us that the team wanted to enter WEC in 2027, but not with the 680 car that he intends to race in AsLMS. Instead, he said the team had built, or were building, an all-new car to compete. It is not clear if this is still the plan, or if the team plans to bring the 680 back into WEC competition.
Phil Oakley
While drivers were not mentioned in the press release, it can be assumed that if the programme in AsLMS goes ahead, driver details will be announced later. AsLMS rules require each Hypercar team to have at least one bronze-rated driver per car.
If the Vanwall does race in AsLMS, it'll compete against Bob Berridge's BBM Sport team, which intends to race two wingless Peugeot 9X8s, which first raced in WEC in 2022 until the first race of the 2024 season with the 'new' Peugeot 9X8.
Feature image: Focus Pack Media / WEC
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