The Williams Racing team principal took part in the end-of-season GT3-based endurance event at Yas Marina Circuit, helping Garage 59’s #8 McLaren 720S GT3 claim victory in the Am category, underlining a successful comeback to the driver’s seat.
Vowles shared the car with Alexander West, Marco Pulcini, and Mark Sansom. The quartet finished 10th overall in a competitive 20-car field. The result came after a strong qualifying performance that set the tone for the race weekend.
Celebrating the outcome on social media, Vowles praised the collective effort across the Garage 59 lineup, highlighting both the team result and his own performance during qualifying.
“Fantastic! Am category winners after 12 tough hours of racing alongside some incredible drivers and teams,” said Vowles.
“This victory means that, for the second consecutive year, Garage 59 leaves the Gulf 12 Hours as class winners.
“From 09:00 this morning through until 23:00 this evening, we gave it everything and we couldn’t be happier with this result.
“Thank you to everyone for the support over the past few days and those who came out in person.
Vowles also praised his teammates in the victory.
“A final thanks to Alex, Mark and Marco. Brilliant teammates,” he added.
“Thank you to Garage 59. Really happy with my progress and a weekend I won’t forget.”
View this post on Instagram
The previous day, Vowles also celebrated his performance, particularly on his personal contribution behind the wheel, having impressed during his qualifying group.
“P1 in class, P4 in Pro-Am (without a pro!) and P13 overall for the team today out in Abu Dhabi. Well done, really strong qualifying and great laps from Alex, Mark and Marco,” he said.
“On a personal note, I was delighted to claim P2 in Group 1 of qualifying. Fastest bronze – good start, long way to go.”
The appearance marked Vowles’ first competitive sports car outing since racing in the Asian Le Mans Series in 2022, when he also drove for Garage 59.
His decision to return to GT3 racing came after carefully balancing his responsibilities in F1 with a long-standing desire to race again.
Earlier in the year, Vowles explained that he had been unwilling to commit to a return until he felt Williams was in a strong enough position to allow him to step away briefly from his day-to-day duties.
That confidence followed the team’s most successful campaign in recent years, finishing fifth in the constructors’ championship with multiple podiums during the 2025 season.
“What’s probably worth doing is winding back from that, which is, ‘Why am I doing this?’” Vowles told Sportscar365.
“Because it seems like an odd thing to do. There’s enough racing in my life. There are several things. One, I did GT3 racing in Asian Le Mans with this team, and I loved it. I learnt a lot from it.”
The Williams boss pointed to both his enjoyment of the category and the stability of his F1 role as key factors behind the decision.
“As I transitioned to Williams, I wanted Williams to be in a solid place so that I could afford to take a week out of it and really focus on something else. So that’s number one,” he said.
Vowles’ Gulf 12 Hours appearance came just a week after the conclusion of the F1 season at the same venue, with the race once again proving a popular end-of-year fixture for GT competitors.
Discussion about this post