Ryan Briscoe returns at World Endurance Championship (WEC) season finale: Australian will support Kolles’ Vanwall team at Bahrain 8h
Ryan Briscoe returns for the season finale of the World Endurance Championship (WEC): the Australian, who has already competed for Glickenhaus this year, will support ByKolles’ Vanwall team and pilot the Vandervell 680 hypercar together with Esteban Guerrieri and Tristan Vautier. The Bahrain 8h (4 November) will conclude this year’s WEC season.
Briscoe steps in as a replacement for Joao Paulo de Oliveira, who is unavailable due to the Super GT race in Motegi. This continues this year’s driver roulette at Vanwall: de Oliveira had last replaced Frenchman Tom Dillmann, who left the team before the race in Monza. Vautier, on the other hand, came in as a replacement for Jacques Villenueve, who had already left before the 24h of Le Mans.
“I’m excited to join the team for the final round of the 2023 World Endurance Championship,” said Briscoe, whose career has included stints as a Formula One test driver for Toyota and a total of seven victories in the American IndyCar Series for the Penske team. “I want to thank Dr Colin Kolles for the opportunity and I’m looking forward to my first laps in the Vandervell 680.”
“Ryan is an excellent driver with a lot of experience in prototype race cars,” added team principal Colin Kolles. “With Esteban, Tristan and Ryan, we have a strong line-up for the final event of the 2023 FIA WEC season. “
Briscoe last competed for the Glickenhaus team and celebrated two third-place finishes last year at Sebring and in 24h races at Le Mans. This year, however, US billionaire Jim Glickenhaus’ team struggled to replicate that competitiveness against the works, finishing sixth overall at the endurance classic.
Glickenhaus is off the grid for the overseas races at Fuji and Bahrain as scheduled, so the chance for Briscoe to join the Vanwall team is even possible.
