The curtain officially came down on the 2025 FIA WEC campaign today with the post-season Rookie Test at the Bahrain International Circuit and Awards Ceremony on the beach.
On track, 29 cars took part in the two sessions, with teams and manufacturers trying out new talent and preparing for future seasons.
Quickest on the day in Hypercar was Antonio Felix Da Costa, who turned 85 laps for Alpine ahead of his full-time drive – and return to the WEC – in 2026. His best time was a 1:49.214.
“It’s amazing to be back in this paddock with Alpine in Hypercar,” Da Costa said. “For this day to finally come and to get back on track has been great. I’ve been doing endurance racing for ten years, and it’s just like riding a bicycle – I left the garage this morning and after only two or three laps, I felt right at home in the car and in the championship.
“On the technical side, my first proper interaction with the race team was easy, which is exactly what I was looking for. Everybody is very driven, everybody is looking for performance, and everybody is pushing hard. We’re conscious of the hard work that lies in front of us to get to where we want to be, but we’re all here to achieve the same goals. It’s going to be a fun winter ahead and I’m looking forward to next year.”
He was one of several notable names to exit the pit lane and hit the loud pedal in the top class.
Over at Peugeot, three key drivers cycled through the two 9X8s. The headline name was Nick Cassidy, who will form a part of the team’s refreshed line-up for the coming season.
It was his second test in the French LMH, following his first taste of the car at COTA earlier in the year, shortly after signing for the team.
He gave plenty of positive feedback from the experience, which saw him complete 31 laps with a best time of 1:49.376 that put him third in the combined rankings.
“It’s all still very new for me with all the degradation,” he told DSC. “I’m happy with the level I am at now, in terms of complexities and systems. It’s probably 30 per cent of what we have in Formula E, so it’s almost a little bit of a holiday for me!”
Throughout the day, longtime prototype racer Mathias Beche and rising British star Alex Quinn also got their feet wet with the 9X8. Both set representative times.
“It was a lot of fun, a lot to take in in a short amount of time,” Quinn, who finished with a best time of 1:51.197, said. “I’ve learned a huge amount about systems and procedures, and enjoyed driving the car a lot. This track is very different, tyre deg is huge, that’s normal here, but I had to manage that. It was quite fun, feeling the small differences that everything makes.”
At Ferrari, it was factory drivers Lilou Wadoux and Alessio Rovera, plus newly-minted ELMS LMP2 champion Oliver Gray in the spotlight aboard the three 499Ps.
Both Wadoux and Rovera had previous experience testing the Italian brand’s Le Mans-winning prototype to build on, and used the day to add to their knowledge bank.
“It was really nice to drive. I had a lot of nice feelings. There are a lot of settings to change on the wheel; it takes a lot of adapting,” said Rovera, who formed part of the development program for the 499P. “Compared to two years ago, when I drove the car, I have much more experience. It’s completely different.”
Wadoux, who has been a factory driver for the past two years, and last drove the 499P at the Rookie Test in 2023, added to DSC: “You can see on track the push forward that the team has made with the car, and you can feel it too. It’s a considerable development in terms of drivability. It’s no surprise the car has been so successful.”
She would not be drawn on whether there was any plan for her to race the Hypercar.
Elsewhere, it was a productive day for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, which welcomed factory drivers Ricky Taylor and Jack Aitken into the fold.
The two drivers travelled to the Middle East this week with Action Express race strategist Peter Baron. Throughout the day, they lapped up the chance to sample the V-Series on a new circuit and get to know the British service provider better.
Whether or not they’re in line to add a WEC program to their commitments in the 2026 season with Cadillac should become clear in the coming days.
“Probably the most interesting thing is seeing a different philosophy of working,” Aitken said after 29 laps in the morning and 49 more in the afternoon.
“I think whenever you embed yourself with a new team from the one you’re familiar with, you always see a slightly different style of race communication or the planning or execution. So, sampling that today was quite interesting. I think less of a difference with the car itself.
“There actually is a lot of crossover similarity, and I felt familiar straight away in the car. On that side, we worked more on the details than anything major.
“We do these crossovers to learn as much as you can, but you have to be careful not to cherry-pick too many things because everyone has their style and their way of working, and it’s sometimes difficult to pick and choose bits of that and make it gel. Having said that, it was good to see how JOTA does things. It was a nice experience.”
There were some interesting storylines to follow at Aston Martin THOR Team and Toyota Gazoo Racing, too.
AMR handed factory driver Mattia Drudi the chance to run in a Valkyrie. “It was really special, really enjoyable and really loud when driving it,” he commented. “It’s nice to drive it after a race weekend to see the differences to the GT3.”
At Toyota, IMSA GTD PRO champion Ben Barnicoat and SUPER GT race winner Sacha Fenestraz shared driving duties, with the latter posting the best hotlap of 1:51.302.
“It has been a very positive day,” Fenestraz said. “It’s really nice to drive such a car and I enjoyed it a lot. This was my first time driving on this track, and to experience it in such an amazing car was special. I had to learn a new driving style and new techniques, as well as the circuit, over long and short stints.”
LMGT3 was led by the #87 AKKODIS ASP Lexus of Le Mans Cup Champion Hadrien David. His best time was the only sub-2:02 lap of the day. Next up was Thomas Fleming, who was nominated to drive the championship-winning Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche, almost half a second off.
A number of teams worked with prospective drivers or used the time to prepare for the forthcoming Asian Le Mans Series season over the winter.
That included Turkish racer Salih Yoluç, who steered the #81 TF Sport Corvette – which happens to be the chassis he will race over the coming month, once it is converted to Asian Le Mans GT spec.
“I had been looking forward all week to getting back into a TF Sport car,” he said. “It was an easy transition back into the team with Tom (Ferrier, team owner) and Charlie (Eastwood, Corvette factory driver) talking me through things before and during the day-to-day. I felt immediately comfortable having been in the Corvette already this year, so there was not much new to learn there.
“The biggest thing was how I communicate over the radio with the team and some other operational items. Overall, I’m very satisfied so far being back with the team, and it’s a good first step ahead of ALMS.”
A handful of other notable names were present, including ex-Formula 1 driver Logan Sargeant, who tested a Proton Mustang GT3 ahead of an as-yet-unannounced programme, and IMSA regulars Parker Thompson and Dan Harper in a WRT BMW M4 GT3.
Garage 59 co-owner Alex West, whose team is set to take over the McLaren LMGT3 programme from United, also attracted attention.
Thankfully, there was only one significant incident during the day, that being an engine failure for the #87 Lexus with Tom van Rompuy behind the wheel.
Once the track action finished, the majority of the paddock was dismantled before the Awards Ceremony on the beach across the street from the circuit. There, the class champions were crowned, and a number of awards were handed out.
Feature image © David Lord / dailysportscar.com
