Rossi, Weerts to Drive WRT Oreca in Bahrain Rookie Test

Former MotoGP star Valentino Rossi and fellow BMW factory driver Charles Weerts will take part in Sunday’s FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test in Bahrain.

The pair will get behind the wheel of an Oreca 07 Gibson run by Team WRT, turning their first laps in LMP2 machinery one day after the eight-hour WEC season finale.

Nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion Rossi drove a WRT-run BMW M4 GT3 in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, the Bathurst 12 Hour and Road to Le Mans this year.

He took his first outright sports car racing victory in a Fanatec GT Sprint Cup round at Misano and also won the second Road to Le Mans race at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The Italian has not competed in the WEC before, although he has previously expressed an intent to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans with WRT in the new LMGT3 class next year.

Weerts, meanwhile, won three Fanatec GT Sprint Cup titles with WRT during the Belgian outfit’s long affiliation with Audi.

He became part of BMW’s factory roster when WRT switched to the Munich-based manufacturer this year.

The WEC released a provisional list of rookie test drivers last week.

Of note, IMSA GTD Pro champions Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat will try out the Toyota GR010 Hybrid, while Lilou Wadoux and Robert Shwartzman will take turns in the Ferrari 499P.