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The FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test, which takes after the now-traditional season closer at Bahrain, is a great place for rookies and young drivers to get accustomed and acquainted with top-line sportscars in the world championship.
It can be hard, though, to keep track of who's driving what during the test. We've put together this handy list, which we'll endeavour to keep updated as more drivers are announced.
Hypercar
Official WEC Hypercar rookie - Ollie Gray
Young, upcoming British sportscar driver Ollie Gray will get to sample the championship-winning Hypercar at the test, whether that be from Ferrari or Porsche. He's already tested a Porsche 963, the IMSA JDC Miller machine at Daytona, so this could be his second taste of a Hypercar, plus the first in a Ferrari and the first in an LMH-rules, 4-wheel-drive hybrid sportscar. Exciting!
We spoke to Ollie after winning the European Le Mans Championship recently, and will have an article out soon featuring the 20-year-old's thoughts as he rises through the sportscar ranks very very quickly.
Ferrari - Alessio Rovera and Lilou Wadoux
Rovera, one of Ferrari's 'official drivers', will test the #83 499P at Bahrain. He's driven the car in the past and was originally in the running for a factory seat, but didn't get the drive.
Lilou Wadoux, Ferrari's first ever female official driver, will also test the 499P.
Toyota - Ben Barnicoat and Sacha Fenestraz
Barnicoat drove the Toyota last year at the rookie test, performing decently for his first time behind the wheel of the car. This'll be Fenestraz's first time driving the GR010, but he has lots of experience in other Toyota machinery from Super GT, plus his Formula E experience with Nissan.
Regular race drivers Mike Conway and Brendon Hartley will also drive a Toyota during the test.
Alpine - Antonio Felix da Costa
Already announced as one of Alpine's race drivers next year, da Costa will sample the A424 at Bahrain. He's driven the car already, a test at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit, but this will give us the first chance to compare his lap times against Alpine's regular WEC drivers.
Phil Oakley
Cadillac - Jack Aitken and Ricky Taylor
Calling these two rookies might be a bit of a stretch, but they qualify as such in WEC's definition. Both race full time for Cadillac in IMSA, Aitken for Action Express and R. Taylor for Wayne Taylor Racing, and also raced at Le Mans earlier this year.
Dailysportscar has reported that Connor Zilisch, who almost won the NASCAR Xfinity Championship this year, was due to test a Cadillac V-Series.R at Bahrain. But this has been scrapped since, as Zilisch didn't win the championship, he has not accumulated enough ACCUS (Automobile Competition Committee for the United States) points to participate.
Alex Lynn and Earl Bamber will also complete installation laps in the JOTA Cadillacs.
Aston Martin - Mattia Drudi
The Italian will sample Aston Martin's V12-powered, naturally aspirated Valkyrie in Bahrain. He's a regular in Aston Martin's GT machinery worldwide, where's a rapid safe pair of hands.
BMW - Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts
These two are known quantities in GT racing but thus far we haven't seen them race a Hypercar, so it'll be interesting to see how they do in the M Hybrid V8. In the future could we see K. van der Linde team up with his brother Sheldon? Or a return of the Vanthoor-Weerts duo which dominated GT World Challenge while they were at Audi?
Sheldon van der Linde will also complete installation laps in the car.
Proton Competition Porsche - Dorian Boccolachi
Gold-rated Boccolachi will test Proton Competition's customer Porsche 963. He's raced in sportscars for some years now, with his programme this year mainly in GT World Challenge Europe.
Peugeot - Nick Cassidy, Mathias Beche, and Alex Quinn
Cassidy has already been announced as a race driver for Peugeot next year, so will get mileage in the 9X8 before his race debut in 2026. Beche, who has raced in various sportscar classes over the years but has most often been seen in LMP2 machinery, will also drive the 9X8. Alex Quinn, who has raced in ELMS this year for Algarve Pro Racing, and has also starred in IMSA's LMP2 category, will also get a chance to drive the 9X8.
Regular race driver will also drive a 9X8 during the test.
LMGT3
Official WEC GT3 rookie - Tom Fleming
Young Briton Fleming has raced this year in ELMS for former WEC team GR Racing, in a Ferrari 296 GT3. He had a best finish of second at Silverstone. He'll test the championship-winning LMGT3 car at Bahrain.
AF Corse Ferrari - Matias Zagazeta and Nicola Lacorte
Heart of Racing Aston Martin - Gray Newell
TF Sport - Salih Yoluc and Charlie Eastwood
United Autosports McLaren - Alexander West
Team WRT BMW - Anthony McIntosh
Akkodis ASP Lexus - Martin Berry and Tom van Rompuy
Manthey 1st Phorm - Francois Heriau and Richard Lietz
The rookie test takes place on Sunday 9th November. Results will be published on the WEC website after the test has finished.
Feature image: DPPI / WEC
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