Milesi, Hoerr Selected for Bahrain Rookie Test Drives

European sports car racing prospects Charles Milesi and Laurents Hoerr have been selected to take part in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s end-of-year rookie test.

Milesi will get the chance to sample the Toyota GR010 Hybrid while Hoerr will drive the winning car from this year’s GTE-Pro category, either the Porsche 911 RSR-19 or the Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.

The official WEC rookie test will take place on Sunday, Nov. 7, one day after the 8 Hours of Bahrain season finale.

The two official rookies were selected by the WEC organizers for their “exemplary performance and racing skills” in recent competitions.

After a 2019 stint in Japanese Formula 3, Milesi made his LMP2 debut last year before signing on for his first full-time stint in the class with Team WRT in 2021.

The 20-year-old Frenchman took a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside his co-drivers Robin Frijns and Ferdinand Habsburg, who together sit one point behind the class lead approaching the final two races of the year in Bahrain.

“I’m really happy with this opportunity, being able to drive a Hypercar and also the one which has won Le Mans this year – it’s unbelievable,” said Milesi.

“I would like to thank everybody, first WRT because we have had an incredible year so far and also the ACO, the WEC and Toyota for this amazing opportunity.”

Hoerr has been a standout in the LMP3 category and is currently second in the European Le Mans Series class standings after winning the last three races on the trot.

The 24-year-old German driver won the last two Michelin Le Mans Cup LMP3 titles with Duqueine outfit DKR Engineering and continues to drive for the team in ELMS.

Hoerr also raced for DKR during the Asian Le Mans Series in February and contested the Rolex 24 at Daytona with Muelhner Motorsport in IMSA’s new LMP3 class.

Unlike Milesi who will be driving a Hypercar-class machine for the first time, Hoerr does have prior GTE experience under his belt having been drafted into Team Project 1’s Porsche GTE-Am lineup for a pair of races in the 2019-20 WEC season.

“I am very happy and grateful that I have been chosen for this year’s rookie test,” he said.

“It means a lot to me to know that people see my performance as a driver. I am very excited to meet this challenge, as I have never worked with a factory team before.”

The WEC has guaranteed a minimum of 30 laps for each of the two selected rookies. The test will also include five hours of track time for other teams in the series.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented young drivers to show off their skills and professionalism to teams representing some of the world’s biggest and most successful automotive brands,” commented WEC CEO Frederic Lequien.

“It is always nice to be able to help some of the hardest working and most naturally skilled drivers in our paddock and we look forward to seeing how Charles and Laurent perform in Bahrain.”