The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) held their annual Rookie Test at the Bahrain circuit on the day after the 8 Hours of Bahrain finale, and BMW drivers Valentino Rossi, Dan Harper and Max Hesse (left to right in top picture) all had a chance to drive the BMW M Hybrid V8.
The Rookie Test allows race teams to give seat time to drivers who often have little to no prior racing experience in the cars they’re sampling. Hesse had already driven the M Hybrid V8 before in development work, while both Harper and Hesse had previously been involved in aerodynamic testing. For Rossi, it was his first time ever in the M Hybrid V8.
Both Rossi and Hesse were particularly impressive in the prototype. Rossi, who typically is not as quick in the M4 GT3 as the other BMW works drivers, was the second fastest overall rookie in the test. His fastest lap in the M Hybrid V8 was only around a tenth of a second behind the fastest Hypercar rookie time set by Arthur Leclerc in the #50 Ferrari 499P. Leclerc is the brother of Ferrari Formula 1 driver Charles Leclerc and competed in the LMP2 prototype category in the European Le Mans Series this year. Hesse was also very quick, setting a fast time only a few tenths behind Rossi which was the fourth fastest rookie time.
René Rast gives some guidance on the M Hybrid V8 to Valentino Rossi.
Rossi was happy to get a chance to drive the prototype. “Today was a fantastic day,” he said. “I had the chance to drive the BMW M Hybrid V8 for the entire day, with the whole crew and René Rast who gave me advice. I enjoyed it a lot, the car is fantastic, very fast and very strong. It has a lot of power, the lap times have been 15 seconds faster than in the GT3, the tires have great grip. It is a real race car. I was quite worried because I had never driven the Hypercar before, but I felt good from the first lap because the car is stable and gave good feedback. To go fast is very difficult but it’s a lot of fun. I have to say thank you for that great experience and I hope that I can have another chance to try the car.”
BMW M Motorsport has yet to announce who will be driving the M Hybrid V8 cars in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship and the FIA WEC. BMW M Team RLL has one empty seat in the IMSA program with the departure of Nick Yelloly to the Meyer Shank Racing Acura program. —David Haueter
[Photos courtesy BMW]