Seven-time World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier will test the new-for-2021 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar at the Bahrain International Circuit on Sunday 7 November, following the FIA WEC double-header.
To prepare himself for the test, Ogier visited Toyota Gazoo Racing’s headquarters in Cologne, Germany for a seat fitting and driving simulator session, during which he spent two days driving the 5.412km Bahrain track at the wheel of a GR010 Hybrid Hypercar.
Frenchman Ogier, who drove the Hypercar on the simulator in July 2020, will be joined by his fellow countryman Charles Milesi at the rookie test. Milesi was selected to take part by the WEC in recognition of his impressive LMP2 season, which included a Le Mans class win. He also completed a simulator session in Cologne earlier this month.
The Bahrain rookie test takes place on Sunday 7 November, with a two-hour morning session followed by three hours of running in the afternoon. The full list of teams and drivers who be taking part in this year’s rookie test will be revealed at the end of October.
Sébastien Ogier commented: “I’m happy to be driving the GR010 HYBRID Hypercar on track for the first time in the official WEC rookie test in Bahrain. The simulator session went well; it was nice to work with the team and discover the GR010 HYBRID for the first time. I could already feel that the Hypercar is very different to the TS050 HYBRID which I drove on the simulator last year. As everyone knows, it’s a dream of mine to compete in endurance racing in the future and the test in Bahrain is important to learn more about the car and about my own level. It’s a big challenge for me and I’m working hard to be ready for Bahrain, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
FIA WEC CEO Frédéric Lequien added: “Sébastien Ogier is a well-known name in the world of motorsport and it will be an honour to host him in Bahrain as he makes his endurance debut. Our rookie tests are the perfect opportunity for drivers from a wide variety of disciplines to test our WEC machinery and it will be interesting to see how he adapts his rally skills to that of the Toyota Hypercar.”