OLIVER Webb will share driving duty with a former Formula 1 pilot in the World Endurance Championship next season.

The Knutsford ace has agreed a deal to stay with privateer outfit ByKolles Racing, where he joins forces with Robert Kubica.

And the duo should be behind the wheel of an improved machine too following a switch to a new engine.

“I’m happy to be coming back with ByKolles,” said Webb.

“To have a chance to compete in the Le Mans 24-hour race once more, and this time with Robert alongside us, is going to be fantastic – for me, it’s a dream come true.”

The Austrian team endured a testing term in the series’ LMP1 class during 2016, and had to wait until the penultimate round in Shanghai to register a first class victory.

They added second-place finishes in Mexico and the United States, but failed to reach the finish at three other rounds due to ongoing reliability problems.

Webb added: “It looks like the competition will be intense in the LMP1 category, although at the moment we’re the only privateer entry.

“It’s great we’ll have the Nismo engine in the car, and we’ll use the 2017 campaign to optimise it as well as make numerous other things better.”

A third driver to partner Kubica and Webb will be announced shortly.

Boris Bermes, head of operations at ByKolles, said: “We rely on Oliver, who has become a highly-valued part of our team and will be a much-needed teammate for Robert.”

“We’re looking to carry out a lot of development work, which I hope improves us significantly.”

The season is scheduled to start at Silverstone in April.