Vowles will drive the # 59 McLaren for the two-round championship, of two races each, which will take place over two “back to back” weekends between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in February.
Garage 50 explained that the Asian Series winter schedule provides Vowles with the perfect opportunity to enjoy racing from the cockpit and then quickly return to his role on the Mercedes Formula 1 team.
The first pre-season test of F1 2022 is scheduled for February 23-25 in Barcelona, just four days after the final race of the Asian Le Mans Series in Yas Marina.
Vowles will be joined by last year’s LMP3 champion, Manuel Maldonado, and Denmark’s Nicolai Kjaergaard in one of the two McLarens just bought by Garage 59 for the 2022 season.
The British team returns to defend the McLaren colors this year after spending the last three seasons fielding the Aston Martin Vantage in a variety of GT3 championships, winning the Pro-Am class in the 2020 Blancpain Endurance Cup with team co-owners , Chris Goodwin and Alexander West.
The team’s other car, # 88, will be entrusted to Marvin Kirchhofer, who helped the team win the Paul Ricard 1000km in 2020, Frank Bird and West.
“I’m really happy with the line-up we’ve secured for the Asian Le Mans Series,” said team principal Andrew Kirkaldy. “We are all eager to get started with the McLaren 720S and are hoping for our first win of the season. It will certainly be beneficial to have one of F1’s best strategists on our team.”
Vowles has been part of the Brackley team since the early 2000s, joining what was then called BAR and which later became the factory Honda team.
The British engineer remained with the team even after the takeover led by Ross Brawn in 2009, helping the team to clinch the double title that year.
He was also instrumental in Mercedes ‘successes in the hybrid era, with the German marque winning its eighth consecutive Constructors’ title in 2021, but missing the double for the first time since 2014.
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