Rossiter to stay with ByKolles for Le Mans

Rossiter, 33, received a late call to rejoin the team ahead of last weekend's FIA WEC Silverstone opener in the wake of ex-Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica's decision to call off his planned programme in the series.

However, along with teammates Oliver Webb and Dominik Kraihamer, the British driver failed to finish the race after a pitlane incident for the #4 ENSO CLM P1/01 involving a GTE class Aston Martin.

Rossiter says he will remain on board with the team until Le Mans to fulfil his ambition to return to the French endurance classic for the first time since 2013, when he raced for ByKolles in its previous Lotus-branded guise in the LMP2 class.

"I've only done Le Mans twice, but it really captured my imagination the first time I did it with Lotus in 2011," Rossiter told Motorsport.com.

"I haven't had the opportunity to do it since 2013 because I have been so busy in Japan [racing in Super Formula and Super GT]."

Rossiter's participation in next month's Spa round will require clearance from race officials, because he is competing in the Super GT round at Fuji on the Thursday of the Belgian event.

"I can get there in time for Friday, but I just need to make sure that I can miss signing on and the drivers' briefing," he explained.

His regular teammate at the TOM'S Lexus squad, Kazuki Nakajima, will miss the Fuji Super GT round in order to take part in practice at Spa on Thursday.

Rossiter believes that ByKolles can make significant progress with its ENSO CLM before Le Mans now that the team has switched from the car's original AER engine to the NISMO-badged Nissan twin-turbo V6. 

"This is the first time we've really been able to work on the car and develop the vehicle dynamics," he said.

"The Nissan engine is exactly what the project needed, because we have now got a consistent working platform."

New front-end aerodynamics are also set to be introduced on the ENSO CLM at Spa.