One of the four drivers who will take part in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s third, official ‘Rookie Test’ at Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday 19 November has been announced today. However, the identity of the remaining three drivers won’t be known until less than 24 hours before the start of the test.
The young driver chosen to test the Toyota TS050 HYBRID will be Frenchman Thomas Laurent (19) (pictured below), who was selected as having shown exemplary performance, determination and race skills during 2017.
The Jackie Chan DC Racing team member, who made his LMP2 debut at the 6 Hours of Silverstone in April of this year, has so far won three times including a memorable result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when he and his team mates finished second overall. He has been leading the LMP2 drivers’ championship since the start of the season.
The other three drivers who will be officially part of the WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain all come from World Series Formula V8 3.5 but, with the drivers’ championship not due to be settled until the final race of the season in Bahrain, their identity won’t be confirmed until less than 24 hours before the test begins.
The eventual winner of the World Series Formula V8 3.5 championship will test the Porsche 919 Hybrid, the driver finishing second in the classification will test and ORECA 07 Gibson with the winner of the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams, and the driver finishing third in the classification will test with the team which has won the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams.
