The CLM P1/01, renamed ENSO CLM P1/01 in 2017, is a sports prototype racing car built for Lotus Racing in 2014. The Lotus team entered the last five rounds of the World Endurance championship in 2014, but later took name as the Austrian based team ByKolles Racing. It is designed to meet the 2014 LMP1-L regulations for Le Mans Prototypes in the FIA World Endurance Championship as well as at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The P1/01 debuted at the 2014 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Development
ByKolles Racing, previously known as Kodewa or Lotus Racing, were participating in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 class, fielding a pair of Lotus T128 chassis. In 2014, Lotus Racing confirmed that they would enter the LMP1 class with a new chassis, provisionally named the Lotus T129. The new chassis missed the first three rounds of the season, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and made its racing debut, renamed as the CLM P1/01, at the 2014 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas.
Racing history
2014 season
The car made its public debut at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, renamed as the Lotus P1/01, however, the car was not able to run in any session of the event due to a change in the engine the car was going to use. The car was originally going to use a 4-litre, naturally aspirated Audi V8, but the deal collapsed due to unknown reasons, and the car was fitted with a 2.4-litre twin turbo V6 from AER. The car made its racing debut at the next round of the World Endurance Championship, the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, with car number #9. Although the car was not able to qualify, it finished the event in second place in the LMP1-L class, completing 140 laps, nine laps down on the class winning Rebellion R-One. At the following race in Fuji, the car burst into flames after 181 laps, after a fuel line ruptured. The driver of the car at the time, Christophe Bouchut, escaped without injury, but left the team after the race. The P1/01 claimed one more finish at the following event in Shanghai, but was unable to finish at Bahrain or São Paulo.
2015 season
Minor changes were made to the P1/01 for the 2015 season, including the transmission casing and a change to the bodywork. The revised car made its debut in March, at the Paul Ricard circuit. The car's number also changed from #9 to #4 for this season. The P1/01 claimed its first two wins in the Privateer class, at the Nurburgring and at the Circuit of the Americas. However, the car was excluded from the results of the 24 Hours of Le Mans due to incorrect driver weight ballast.
2016 season
The P1/01 returned in 2016, with radically changed bodywork in order to improve the aerodynamics of the car. The car kept the same number as the previous season, #4. The gearbox was also upgraded to a 7-speed from a 6-speed, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car struggled with reliability issues throughout the season, culminating in fires at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Nürburgring. The Rebellion Racing team withdrew one of their two cars from the championship after Nürburgring, leaving only two cars in the class. The car managed to claim a win in the 2016 6 Hours of Shanghai after the competing Rebellion R-One had technical issues. The car finished 2nd in the Private LMP1 Teams championship.
At the post season rookie test in Bahrain, Former Formula One driver Robert Kubica tested the car.