More entries confirmed for WEC Rookie Test

Toyota, BMW and Vista AF Corse have revealed nominees for the upcoming FIA WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain.

Toyota Gazoo Racing has handed Sacha Fenestraz and Ben Barnicoat the opportunity to drive a GR010 HYBRID. For Fenestraz, who is currently competing in both Super Formula and Super GT, it will be his first run in a Hypercar. The 26-year-old French-Argentine driver currently sits fifth in the Super GT standings, racing with TGR Team SARD.

Barnicoat, meanwhile, will be making his second appearance in a GR010 HYBRID, having previously tested it in last year's Rookie Test. Barnicoat has been competing in Lexus RC F GT3s this season with AKKODIS ASP in the FIA WEC’s LMGT3 class, and Vasser Sullivan in the GTD Pro ranks of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

At BMW, factory drivers Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts will participate in the test day with the Bavarian marque aboard an M Hybrid V8 for the first time. The 2025 GT World Challenge Europe drivers’ champions, who also claimed Sprint Cup honors, will both get behind the wheel of the M Hybrid V8 for the first time.

It is set to be a maiden Hypercar outing for both drivers, who have predominantly raced in GT3 machinery in recent years. Alongside their GT World Challenge success, the duo are the last two Intercontinental GT Challenge champions, after van der Linde succeeded Weerts with an impressive 2025 campaign, which saw him win four out of five races.

Van der Linde is the only one of the pair to have raced a prototype in the past, having contested the final round of the 2021 Asian Le Mans Series with Phoenix Racing. Weerts’ most recent public prototype experience, meanwhile, was an outing in Team WRT’s ORECA 07 LMP2 at the 2023 Rookie Test.

And in LMGT3, Vista AF Corse has handed 18-year-old Nicola Lacorte and 22-year-old Matias Zagazeta a chance to test a Ferrari 296 LMGT3 at the International Circuit. Both drivers bring single-seater experience and previous track time in a 296.

Lacorte made two starts for Cetilar Racing in IMSA GTD, while Zagazeta took part in the recent European Le Mans Series Rookie Test at Portimão, topping both sessions in a Spirit Of Race-entered Ferrari.

Previously, the WEC announced it had picked Ollie Grey and Thomas Fleming to test the championship-winning cars in Hypercar and LMGT3 respectively while Peugeot has confirmed Nick Cassidy, Mathias Beche and Alex Quinn will sample a 9X8.

The 2025 FIA WEC Rookie Test will be held at Bahrain International Circuit on Nov. 9, the day following the season finale.

The full entry list is expected to be published early next week.