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Ferrari to give Wadoux, Shwartzman Hypercar runs in WEC rookie test

The two Ferrari works drivers were among several notable names to feature on an 18-car entry list for the test, set to take place on 5 November after the WEC finale at the same track, released on Tuesday.

For Wadoux, who has raced an AF Corse Ferrari in the GTE Am class in this week's WEC, it will mark her second time behind the wheel of an LMH after she drove the Toyota GR010 HYBRID in the same event last year.

Ferrari Formula 1 reserve Shwartzman meanwhile gets the chance to sample the 499P after racing in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup this season with AF, which also runs the Ferrari Hypercar programme.

All five major manufacturers in the Hypercar class will be present for the test, albeit with just one car for the majority. Only Peugeot has opted to participate with both of its cars.

Toyota will run the WEC's nominated rookie driver Josh Pierson in its solo GR010 HYBRID, as previously announced, joined by current team regular Jose Maria Lopez as well as Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat.

British pair Hawksworth and Barnicoat won this year's IMSA SportsCar Championship title in the GTD Pro category driving a Lexus RC F GT3 for Vasser Sullivan Racing.

Porsche meanwhile is giving a first run in top-flight prototype machinery to newly-crowned DTM champion Thomas Preining, who will share the works 963 LMDh with a yet-to-be-announced second driver.

Cadillac's V-Series.R will be shared by Nicolas Varrone, the WEC's nominated rookie for the test in the LMP2 class, and newly crowned European Le Mans Series LMP2 champion Kyffin Simpson.

Varrone won this year's GTE Am title for sister GM brand Corvette, while Simpson also has links to Cadillac via partner team Chip Ganassi Racing, with which he is stepping up to the IndyCar Series in 2024.

Champion Thomas Preining, Manthey EMA (Photo by: Alexander Trienitz)

Peugeot will run existing racer Mikkel Jensen alongside 2024 newcomer Stoffel Vandoorne and its own official junior driver Malthe Jakobsen across its two 9X8 LMHs.

Insight: The next Danish Le Mans hope seeking to follow in Kristensen's footsteps

Also present for the test will be the Vanwall Vanderwell 680 and two customer Porsches, one each from Jota and Proton Competition.

Job van Uitert will share the Vanwall with regular driver Esteban Guerrieri while Jota's LMP2 regular Pietro Fittipaldi will sample the team's 963. Former IndyCar driver Rene Binder and GTE regular Julien Andlauer will both drive for Proton.

The 18-car entry list for the test is made up by five LMP2s and four GTE Am cars.

Only three of the five LMP2 squads, Prema Racing, United Autosports and Inter Europol Competition, have at least one driver named for the test, with Jota and WRT yet to announce any.

Proton LMDh regular Harry Tincknell will share Prema's ORECA-Gibson 07 with current GTE Am racer PJ Hyett and Paul-Loup Chatin, while United Autosports will run bronze-rated Daniel Schneider and Inter Europol fields Formula 2 racer Clement Novalak.

Varrone was originally slated to drive for whichever team won the LMP2 title in Bahrain, which is likely to be WRT as it has a 33-point lead with only 39 available, but he will only sample the Cadillac as LMP2 drops out of the WEC at the end of this season.

Antoine Doquin, the WEC's nominated rookie for GTE Am, will share the title-winning Corvette C8.R with works driver Nicky Catsburg in the last official test outing for GTE machinery.

The other three cars in the class will all be AF Corse-run Ferraris, with Christoph Ulrich, Nicola Marinangeli and Lorenzo Patrese, son of ex-F1 racer Riccardo, named as drivers.

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