Wadoux to Pilot Ferrari 499P as Rookie Test Entry Released

Lilou Wadoux will return to the cockpit of the Ferrari 499P at the FIA World Endurance Championship rookie test, driving the Prancing Horse’s LMH car for the second time after a previous outing in 2023.

Confirmed by the release of a 26-car entry list on Tuesday, Wadoux will drive the No. 50 Ferrari at the test, which takes place the day after the season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain.

The Frenchwoman previously drove the 499P at the same circuit two years ago, which in turn came a year after she sampled the Toyota GR010 Hybrid in Bahrain as well.

The Hypercar category will feature 12 cars, with Porsche Penske Motorsport notably not listed. The sole Porsche 963 in the test is Proton Competition’s privately-entered example, which has Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific selected driver Dorian Boccolacci named.

Furthermore, Tuesday’s release of the entry list features a number of names that are additions to previous announcements.

Earl Bamber, for example, will join Jack Aitken and Ricky Taylor at Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, while Sheldon van der Linde is set to share driving duties aboard the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8 alongside the previously named Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde.

New Peugeot signing Nick Cassidy is listed aboard both Peugeot 9X8s, with Malthe Jakobsen also in the No. 94 car.

Toyota also has both of its cars entered for the test, with the previously named Ben Barnicoat and Sacha Fenestraz in the No. 7 car while Brendon Hartley and Mike Conway are set to take turns driving the sister No. 8 machine.

In LMGT3, 14 cars have been entered, although the No. 31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO and both Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos have no drivers named yet.

Alexander West, who co-owns the Garage 59 squad that will take over McLaren’s LMGT3 entries from United Autosports next year, has been listed aboard the Anglo-American team’s No. 59 720S GT3 Evo.

Anthony McIntosh will drive the second Team WRT BMW, which is entered as No. 69. The American racer is set to join the Vincent Vosse-led squad for the upcoming Asian Le Mans Series season, which kicks off in Malaysia next month.

Similarly, Francois Heriau will get his first test outing in the No. 92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R while Salih Yoluc pilots TF Sport’s No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Akkodis ASP Team will welcome Martin Berry and Tom van Rompuy, who have raced for Iron Lynx and TF Sport, respectively, in addition to former single-seater racer Hadrien David.