Harper, Hesse, Rossi Join BMW for Rookie Test

Dan Harper and Max Hesse will join Valentino Rossi for the FIA World Endurance Championship Rookie Test at Bahrain, where they will be piloting the BMW M Hybrid V8.

Confirmed by the Munich manufacturer on Thursday, the three factory drivers will get behind the wheel of the Dallara-chassised LMDh car the day after the WEC season finale at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Rossi has been earmarked for a Hypercar test outing for some time, having previously sampled a Team WRT Oreca 07 Gibson at last year’s Rookie Test.

“I am thrilled that I can test the Hypercar,” said Rossi.

“We have been looking for a date for a long time, and now it has finally worked out. I really wanted to do this test to get a feel for what the BMW M Hybrid V8 can do.

“Many thanks to BMW M Motorsport for this opportunity. For me, the Hypercars are the MotoGP of prototype racing. They have a lot of power and are very impressive.

“I prepared in the BMW M Motorsport simulator and already got a first impression, but Sunday in Bahrain in the real car will be even more exciting. I am very curious to see what potential I have in the BMW M Hybrid V8.”

Former Junior Team members Harper and Hesse, meanwhile, return to the cockpit of the BMW M Hybrid V8, previously having driven the car in private testing.

The two drivers competed jointly in the Intercontinental GT Challenge and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup together this season, most notably finishing on the podium in the Nürburgring 24 and winning the three-hour race at Paul Ricard.

The two also recently joined Team WRT, which operates BMW’s factory FIA WEC Hypercar program, for the IGTC finale at the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.

BMW is the latest brand to confirm its Rookie test plans, with Alpine bringing in FIA Formula 2 race winner Victor Martins, Peugeot announcing Clement Novalak and Theo Pourchaire and Toyota lining up LMGT3 driver Esteban Masson.

The full Rookie Test entry list is set to be released later on Thursday, a WEC spokesperson told Sportscar365.