Rookie test returns to FIA WEC

FIA World Endurance Championship will reintroduce the rookie tests for young talents, to get a test in a Championship winning sportscar.

The test was most recently run i 2017 in Bahrain, where drivers like Pietro Fittipaldi, Thomas Laurent, Rinus Van Kalmthout (Rinus VeeKay) and Alfonso Celis Jr got a chance to test a LMP or GT car.

The 2019 selection will have Job van Uitert in a works Porsche 911 RSR-19. That will be somewhat of a downgrade for the flying Dutchman, who won the LMP3 Championship in the ELMS last year, and currently leads the LMP2 standings with G-Drive Racing #26 in the ELMS.

Vincent Abril will get a test in a Team Project 1 Porsche (2017). Abril was already racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2019 in an identical Porsche for Proton Competition. He will race at the 4 hours of Shanghai, where he once again will share the car with Louis Prette and Philippe Prette, but this time under the Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche #88 banner. So he already knows the car very well.

Jens Petersen & Mikkel Jensen
Photo: JJ Media

The LMP cars will have two well-known LMP drivers behind the wheel. Mikkel Jensen will be testing for Signatech Alpine Elf #36, in their ORECA 07 Gibson LMP2 car. He currently races in an LMP3 racer for Eurointernational in the European Le Mans Series, which he currently leads, plus his works duties in GT3 for BMW.

Nyck de Vries has been allowed into a Toyota Gazoo Racing TS050-Hybrid, which was the all dominant car last season, and currently leads the 2019/20 Championship. De Vries is already participating in the FIA WEC, where he is racing for Racing Team Nederland #29 in LMP2, plus he will race in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship for Mercedes, and their new Formula E team.

Each driver will have at least 30 laps in the car, but the teams are allowed to give the four drivers more laps, if they feel like they can use their feedback.

The rookie test will be run at 15 December 2019 at the Bahrain International Circuit.

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