18 Cars On WEC Rookie Test Entry
The 2023 FIA WEC Rookie Test entry list has been revealed. It features 19 cars from the three classes, nine of which are in the Hypercar class.
The top class sees a variety of interesting names listed.
At Cadillac Racing, FIA WEC GTE Am champion with Corvette Nico Varrone will share the #2 V-Series.R with Kyffin Simpson. Varrone tested an LMP2 car at Portimao yesterday, topping the times.
Simpson, who won the ELMS LMP2 title last weekend with Algarve Pro Racing, is connected to the programme through his role as a Ganassi development driver. Next year he will take a full-time IndyCar seat with the team.
There are three Porsche 963s listed, one from each of the three teams.
At Penske, newly crowned DTM Champion Thomas Preining will drive the #5 car alongside a driver who hasn’t yet been named. JOTA will test newly-signed RLL IndyCar driver Pietro Fittipaldi in its #38. And Proton has Rene Binder and Julien Andlauer entered – Andlauer one of a number of Pro drivers currently testing at Portimao in Proton’s LMP2 Oreca.
Toyota will run a single GR010 HYBRID for Jose Maria Lopez, current United LMP2 driver Josh Pierson and newly-crowned IMSA GTD Pro champions Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth. Ferrari too will run a single car, its #51 499P is set to turn laps with Richard Mille GTE Am driver Lilou Wadoux and Robert Schwartzman, Scuderia Ferrari’s F1 reserve driver.
Peugeot on the other hand will run both its 9X8s. Stoffel Vandoorne is listed in both cars, and will share seat time with Mikkel Jensen in the #93 and Danish junior driver Malthe Jakobsen in the #94.
Finally, Vanwall Racing has Esteban Guerrieri down to steer its Vandervell 680 alongside Dutchman Job van Uitert, who is using the test to get his first experience in a Hypercar.
The LMP2 list is five cars strong, with a single ORECA from Prema, United, JOTA, Inter Europol and Team WRT.
Prema’s driver squad is the most intriguing, with AO Racing’s PJ Hyett signed to drive with Multimatic driver Harry Tincknell and French LMP2 ace Paul Loup Chatin.
United will run a car for Daniel Schneider, who is fresh from a full-season LMP2 campaign in the ELMS with the team and Clement Novalak, who also turned laps in this week’s ELMS Rookie Test, will spend the day with Inter Europol. Neither JOTA or WRT have revealed drivers yet.
GTE Am, for the final contemporary appearance of the GTE class cars globally, four cars will take to the track. AF Corse will run three of them, with Ferrari 488s for highly experienced gentleman driver and 2021 GT2 European Series Am Cup champions Christoph Ulrich, Lorenzo Patrese and Nicola Marinangeli.
For the Corvette C8.R’s swansong, Nicky Catsburg and previously confirmed nominee Antoine Doquin will share the car.
The FIA WEC Rookie Test is set to take place the day after the season-closing 8 Hours of Bahrain next month.
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