ByKolles Racing has confirmed it will race with a Nissan engine in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP1 class.
ByKolles was previously powered by British company AER, but confirmed on Wednesday that it will use the NISMO-designed 3.0 litre, V6 twin-turbo engine that was originally developed for Nissan’s factory LMP1 project.
“Engine supply from Nismo is of great significance to our team,” ByKolles head of operations Boris Bermes said.
“After having to deal with many setbacks in the past due to engine reliability issues, for the 2017 season, we’re expecting a significant improvement in terms of both reliability as well as performance.
“As a result of the changes in regulations for 2017, we will be able to make big improvements to both the front and the rear, particularly in aerodynamics.
“In addition to that, our design engineers have achieved a reduction in weight, and have introduced comprehensive updates to mechanical components. We’re already looking forward to the first tests with our fully revamped CLM P1/01.
“For this year, we are looking to clearly demonstrate our improvements and continue to develop our CLM P1/01. For the 2018 season, the car will be made available to customers to adapt customer power source and can be ordered as of now.”
ByKolles will be the only privateer team racing in the LMP1 class of the WEC in 2017 following Rebellion Racing’s decision to step down to LMP2.
The new WEC season begins with the 6 Hours of Silverstone on April 17.