At times subject to reliability concerns in the past (we all remember the fire Pierre Kaffer dealt with at last year's 24 Hours of Le Mans), the ByKOLLES Racing team decided to do away with the AER engine for a Nismo, from Nissan's competition branch, for the 2017 season. The obvious goal is to show that the CLM P1/01, which underwent aerodynamic modifications during the off-season, can perform and attract eventual clients for the 2018 season.

Although unranked at Le Mans in 2015 for lack of distance covered, the car did cross the finish line, which kicked off a momentum the Austrian outfit rode all the way to top private LM P1 team twice, at the Nürburgring and in Texas, before three second place finishes. Unfortunately, reliability troubles during the 2016 season prevented the team led by Boris Bermes to repeat such a performance level, leading to the crucial nature of a successful 2017 season.

Boris Berme: "We’re relentlessly working on numerous additional improvements to our car. As a result of the changes in regulations for 2017 (to enhance the performance of private LM P1s, Ed.), 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."

Quotation from team press release.

Photo: ByKOLLES Racing's CLM P1/01 at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans.