Colin Kolles
Encyclopedia
Colin Kolles is the team principal and managing director of the Hispania Racing F1 Team, previously holding a similar position at the team known under the names Jordan
, Midland
, Spyker
and Force India
from 2005 to 2008. He is from Ingolstadt
, Germany, and his nationality is German
.
Kolles qualified as a dentist, which was the family business - although "evidence" that his father was dentist to former Romania
n leader Nicolae Ceauşescu
is not factual - the cited article being a spoof (re: F1 Racing June 2007). In 2000 he entered racing by establishing the Kolles Racing team in the German Formula Three Championship
, and later the TME Racing team in the Formula Three Euroseries
. He was appointed as Managing Director of the Jordan Grand Prix
team by its new owner, Alex Shnaider
, on 19 January 2005.
Despite receiving some criticism in 2005 for his "hard-headed" approach, Kolles kept his position Managing Director of the team, presiding over the launch of the Midland
M16 chassis before the 2006 season
began. Following the team's takeover by Spyker and then Force India
, he remained as managing director.
Despite running a Formula One team, Kolles has still been called upon to use his dentistry skills. Before the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix
, he was forced to perform dental surgery on his driver Tiago Monteiro
, who was suffering from toothache that was severe enough to potentially keep him out of the race. He also performed a similar procedure on Midland's other driver Christijan Albers
at the 2006 French Grand Prix
.
In November 2008, it was announced that Force India chairman Vijay Mallya
was to take over the role of Team Principal for , leaving Kolles without a major role in the team. He remained contracted to the team until 31 October 2009, when he resigned as a director.
Kolles has since formed his own team to compete in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
and the 2009 Le Mans Series season
, he will field a pair of ex-works Audi R10
s for sportscar stalwart Michael Krumm
, Charles Zwolsman
, ex-single seater drivers Andrew Meyrick and Christian Bakkerud
, and sometime Formula One
drivers Christijan Albers
and Narain Karthikeyan
. Giorgio Mondini
has been confirmed to participate in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
in place of Krumm, who is developing the Nissan GT-R
for Nissan instead. Andre Lotterer
will also race at Le Mans, instead of Meyrick. He ran a team in the 2009 DTM
, with Bakkerud, Johannes Seidlitz
and Tomáš Kostka
driving two-year-old Audi A4
s.
In February 2010, Kolles was appointed team principal of the debutant Hispania Racing team as part of a deal to rescue their prospects of competing in the 2010 Formula One season
. He replaced team founder Adrián Campos
in the role.
Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...
, Midland
Midland F1 Racing
Midland F1 Racing was a Formula One constructor and racing team. It competed in the 2006 Formula One season with drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro. The team was created by the renaming of Jordan Grand Prix after its purchase by Canadian businessman, and owner of the Midland Group, Alex...
, Spyker
Spyker F1
Spyker F1 Team was a Formula One team that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship, and was created by Spyker Cars after their buyout of the short-lived Midland F1 team...
and Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...
from 2005 to 2008. He is from Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
, Germany, and his nationality is German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Kolles qualified as a dentist, which was the family business - although "evidence" that his father was dentist to former Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n leader Nicolae Ceauşescu
Nicolae Ceausescu
Nicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
is not factual - the cited article being a spoof (re: F1 Racing June 2007). In 2000 he entered racing by establishing the Kolles Racing team in the German Formula Three Championship
German Formula Three Championship
The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany's national Formula Three series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault and championships such as GP2...
, and later the TME Racing team in the Formula Three Euroseries
Formula Three Euroseries
The Formula 3 Euro Series is a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship...
. He was appointed as Managing Director of the Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix
Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...
team by its new owner, Alex Shnaider
Alex Shnaider
Alex Shnaider is a Russian-born Canadian entrepreneur and former commodities trader. He is co-founder with Eduard Shifrin of the Midland Group. He was educated at York University in Toronto....
, on 19 January 2005.
Despite receiving some criticism in 2005 for his "hard-headed" approach, Kolles kept his position Managing Director of the team, presiding over the launch of the Midland
Midland F1 Racing
Midland F1 Racing was a Formula One constructor and racing team. It competed in the 2006 Formula One season with drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro. The team was created by the renaming of Jordan Grand Prix after its purchase by Canadian businessman, and owner of the Midland Group, Alex...
M16 chassis before the 2006 season
2006 Formula One season
The 2006 Formula One season was the 57th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship which began on March 12 and ended on October 22 after eighteen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Fernando Alonso of Renault F1 for the second year in a...
began. Following the team's takeover by Spyker and then Force India
Force India
Sahara Force India Formula One Team, the trading name of Force India Formula One Team Limited, is a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, United Kingdom which currently holds an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 2007 when a consortium led by Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and...
, he remained as managing director.
Despite running a Formula One team, Kolles has still been called upon to use his dentistry skills. Before the 2005 Turkish Grand Prix
2005 Turkish Grand Prix
The 2005 Turkish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 21 at Istanbul Park in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first Formula One race to take place in Turkey.-Friday Drivers:-Qualifying:...
, he was forced to perform dental surgery on his driver Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Monteiro
Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro is a Portuguese racing driver. He drove for Jordan, Midland and Spyker MF1 teams—all different iterations of the same team as it was bought by new owners during a two year stint as part of the Formula One paddock...
, who was suffering from toothache that was severe enough to potentially keep him out of the race. He also performed a similar procedure on Midland's other driver Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers is a Dutch racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by his Spyker F1 team...
at the 2006 French Grand Prix
2006 French Grand Prix
The 2006 French Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 2006 Formula One season. It was held on July 14 – July 16, 2006 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours...
.
In November 2008, it was announced that Force India chairman Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya is an Indian liquor and airline baron. The son of industrialist Vittal Mallya, he is the chairman of the United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines. His United Spirits is world's second largest liquor maker, by volume...
was to take over the role of Team Principal for , leaving Kolles without a major role in the team. He remained contracted to the team until 31 October 2009, when he resigned as a director.
Kolles has since formed his own team to compete in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest over June 13–14, 2009 and was started by Fiat and Ferrari chairman Luca...
and the 2009 Le Mans Series season
2009 Le Mans Series season
The 2009 Le Mans Series season was the sixth season of Automobile Club de l'Ouest's Le Mans Series. It was contested over five events between 5 April and 13 September 2009....
, he will field a pair of ex-works Audi R10
Audi R10
The Audi R10 TDI, usually abbreviated to R10, is a racing car from the German car manufacturer Audi. The car is a classic at Le Mans, winning every year since its introduction until it was replaced by the R15. It is designed and constructed for sports car racing in the Le Mans Prototype LMP1 class...
s for sportscar stalwart Michael Krumm
Michael Krumm
Michael Krumm is an auto racing driver. At present, he competes in the FIA GT1 World Championship. Krumm married tennis player Kimiko Date on 1 December 2001 at St. Mary's Cathedral, Tokyo...
, Charles Zwolsman
Charles Zwolsman
Charles Zwolsman Jr. is a race car driver who formerly competed in the Champ Car World Series. He is the son of former sports car racing driver and career criminal, Charles Zwolsman, Sr., who competed in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Zwolsman started racing go karts before competing in Formula...
, ex-single seater drivers Andrew Meyrick and Christian Bakkerud
Christian Bakkerud
Christian Bakkerud was a Danish racing driver, who competed in the 2007 and 2008 GP2 Series seasons, albeit hindered by a recurrent back injury...
, and sometime Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
drivers Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers is a Dutch racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by his Spyker F1 team...
and Narain Karthikeyan
Narain Karthikeyan
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan , is the first Formula One motor racing driver from India. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He made his Formula One debut in with the Jordan team, and was a WilliamsF1 test driver in and...
. Giorgio Mondini
Giorgio Mondini
Giorgio Mondini is an Automobile racing driver from Geneva, Switzerland.-Career:Mondini began his competitive racing career at the age of 21, when he came 26th in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup series. In 2002 he made his way up to 17th place, before moving on to Formula Renault V6 Eurocup...
has been confirmed to participate in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
2009 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 77th Grand Prix of Endurance, an endurance auto race run over 24 hours. It took place at the Circuit de la Sarthe, Le Mans, France, and was organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest over June 13–14, 2009 and was started by Fiat and Ferrari chairman Luca...
in place of Krumm, who is developing the Nissan GT-R
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R is a sports car produced by Nissan released in Japan on December 6, 2007, the United States on July 4, 2008, and the rest of the world in March 2009.-History:...
for Nissan instead. Andre Lotterer
André Lotterer
André Lotterer is a German auto racing driver.- Racing career :Lotterer succeeded in both German and British Formula 3 championships en route to being named Jaguar Racing's Formula One test driver in 2002...
will also race at Le Mans, instead of Meyrick. He ran a team in the 2009 DTM
2009 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season
The 2009 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season was the tenth Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season since the series' resumption in 2000. The series began on May 17 at Hockenheim and finished on October 25 at the same venue....
, with Bakkerud, Johannes Seidlitz
Johannes Seidlitz
Johannes Seidlitz is a German racing driver from Wassertrüdingen. He currently competes in the ADAC GT Masters championship.-Single-seaters:...
and Tomáš Kostka
Tomáš Kostka
Tomáš Kostka is a Czech racing driver, who lives in Beausoleil, Alpes-Maritimes. He currently competes in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Futurecom-BRT.- Racing career :...
driving two-year-old Audi A4
Audi A4
The first generation Audi A4 debuted in 1994, with production starting November 1994. It was built on the Volkswagen Group B5 platform, which it shared with the fourth generation Volkswagen Passat . It had a front-mounted longitudinal engine and front-wheel drive...
s.
In February 2010, Kolles was appointed team principal of the debutant Hispania Racing team as part of a deal to rescue their prospects of competing in the 2010 Formula One season
2010 Formula One season
The 2010 Formula One season was the 61st Formula One season of World Championship motor racing competition. Red Bull Racing won its maiden Constructors' Championship with a one-two finish in Brazil, while Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel won the Drivers' Championship after winning the final race...
. He replaced team founder Adrián Campos
Adrián Campos
Adrián Campos Suñer is a retired Formula One driver from Spain. He participated in 21 Grands Prix, debuting on April 12, 1987, without scoring a championship point. He later moved into team management, with more success...
in the role.