When the 2025 Formula 1 season wraps up at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 7, Williams team principal James Vowles will not be flying back to Europe. Instead, he will stay on at the Yas Marina Circuit to contest the Gulf 12 Hours the following weekend.
Vowles will compete alongside 2024 Gulf 12 Hours Pro-Am winner Alexander West and International GT Open frontrunners Mark Sansom and Marco Pulcini. The quartet will share a Garage 59-run McLaren 720S GT3.
Vowles's racing background
"The chance to put on a race helmet again is something I relish," said Vowles. "Garage 59 is a team I know well from our time together in 2022, and the Gulf 12 Hours is a fantastic event with a competitive grid.
"It will be a pleasure to share the car with Alex, Mark and Marco, and to experience racing from the driver's seat again."
And indeed, Vowles is hardly new to the driving side. After a one-off touring car outing in 2015, he contested the 2022 Asian Le Mans Series in a McLaren, also entered by Garage 59.
"We thoroughly enjoyed working with James during the 2022 Asian Le Mans campaign," said team principal Andrew Kirkaldy.
"His approach and professionalism, and of course his knowledge of strategy, made it a very enjoyable collaboration. Bringing him back for the Gulf 12 Hours is something we're all excited about, and we're looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in Abu Dhabi."
It will, however, be Vowles's first race as a driver since he took charge of Williams in 2023, joining from his role as strategy chief at Mercedes.
What is the Gulf 12 Hours?
Launched in 2012, the Gulf 12 Hours has grown into a reference point for international GT racing. Held at the Yas Marina Circuit, it gives teams and drivers a prestigious year-ending challenge at one of world motorsport's most glamorous venues.
Staged shortly after F1's Abu Dhabi GP, the race traditionally serves as the GT season finale. The 15th edition will take place on Sunday, December 14.
GT3 machinery remains the headline category, now joined by the new GTX1 class for high-performance Cup cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Porsche.
The race is split into two parts: an initial eight-hour segment, followed by a concluding four-hour sprint, separated by a two-hour break. For fans, that pause is a major attraction, as it allows spectators into the pitlane for a walkabout, garage access, and the chance to meet the race-leading drivers.
The interruption acts like a safety-car reset: gaps are neutralised, but completed laps are carried over into part two.
The team
Garage 59 is a multi-title-winning British GT team founded in 2016 and now owned by West, Kirkaldy and Chris Goodwin.
A specialist in running McLaren, Ferrari and Aston Martin GT cars, the team has competed in GT World Challenge Europe, the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Bathurst 12 Hour, the Intercontinental GT Challenge, British GT, the Asian Le Mans Series and International GT Open.
The team's first major title came in 2016, when Shane van Gisbergen, Rob Bell and Côme Ledogar clinched the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in a McLaren 650S GT3.
In 2026, Garage 59 will shift its main focus to the World Endurance Championship, fielding two McLaren 720S GT3s - taking over from United Autosports, which will concentrate on Hypercar development. The British outfit will also remain present in GT World Challenge Europe.
