ByKolles Racing, formally known as Kodewa GmbH & Co. KG, is an

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primaril ...

team based in

Greding Greding () is a town in the district of Roth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 28 km southeast of Roth bei Nürnberg and 32 km north of Ingolstadt. Geography Greding is located in the south-eastern corner of Middle Franconia. The m ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It was founded in 2000 by Romulus Kolles and his son Colin Kolles as Kolles Racing.

History

The company initially participated in

German Formula 3 The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany, from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship to ...

before moving to the F3 Euro Series from 2003 to 2005. Colin Kolles left the team to become director of the

Jordan Grand Prix Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team was named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan. The team was based at Silverstone, UK but raced with an Irish licence. In early 2005, the ...

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

team at the start of the 2005 season, a position he held until 2009. With his son away, Romulus moved the team to the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB- FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The s ...

series with

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The o ...

under the sponsorship title Futurecom TME. The Kolles team shifted their interest to

sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing i ...

by participating in the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the f ...

and later the

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup The Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (shortened ILMC) was an endurance sports car racing tournament organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) started in 2010.

, again with customer Audi prototypes. Kolles returned to Formula One to helm the

HRT F1 HRT Formula 1 Team, formerly known as Campos Meta 1 and Hispania Racing, was a Spanish Formula One team founded by former driver Adrián Campos. It was sold to José Ramón Carabante before its debut in 2010, and then to investment group Th ...

team in 2010, with Kodewa's workshop in Greding serving as a base of operations for the new team before HRT's new owners chose to release Kolles from the team and move their operations to Spain in 2012. Kodewa participated in the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship with the backing of

Lotus Cars Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics. Lotus was previously involved in Formula On ...

under the title Lotus LMP2. In 2014 they lost their Lotus backing and rebranded as ByKolles Racing with a new LMP1 prototype, the CLM P1/01. In 2017

Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing and rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test d ...

was set to return to active racing again in the ByKolles car for the WEC season. Eventually in April he withdrew from the team. Former

Caterham F1 The Caterham F1 Team was a Malaysian, later British owned Formula One team based in the United Kingdom which raced under a Malaysian licence. The Caterham brand competed in the Formula One World Championship from to , following the acquisitio ...

boss Manfredi Ravetto joined the ByKolles team in 2018. Lola B12-80 Lotus

On 2 April 2022, ByKolles successfully completed the roll-out of its Vanwall Le Mans Hypercar, as the team prepares for entry in the 2023

FIA World Endurance Championship The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Interco ...

On 11 January 2023, ByKolles entry was accepted, and the team will enter the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMH class with Vanwall Vandervell 680.

Results

German Formula Three Championship results

Formula 3 Euro Series results

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

Le Mans Series results

FIA World Endurance Championship results

Le Mans 24 Hours Result

Timeline

The series in which the team competed are listed:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kodewa German auto racing teams Auto racing teams established in 2000 2000 establishments in Germany 24 Hours of Le Mans teams Formula 3 Euro Series teams European Le Mans Series teams Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters teams FIA World Endurance Championship teams German racecar constructors Italian Formula 3 teams German Formula 3 teams Audi in motorsport