De Vries headlines WEC Bahrain rookie test with Toyota

Nyck de Vries will sample an LMP1 car for the first time in December after receiving a run-out with reigning FIA World Endurance Championship winner Toyota in the Bahrain rookie test.

Formula 2 champion de Vries was one of four 'rookies' named on Friday by the WEC for its regular post-Bahrain test that looks to give young drivers a chance in new machinery.

De Vries is balancing a WEC programme in LMP2 with Racing Team Nederland alongside a drive for Mercedes in Formula E, having wrapped up the F2 title in Sochi last weekend.

De Vries will complete at least 30 laps of running in the Toyota TS050 Hybrid in Bahrain, taking place on Sunday December 15 following the 8 Hours of Bahrain.

Rising LMP2 star Job van Uitert will try his hand in a factory-run Porsche 911 RSR, linking up with the German manufacturer after its championship victory in the 2018-19 super season.

European Le Mans Series LMP3 points leader Mikkel Jensen will test for Signatech Alpine in its Alpine A470 Gibson LMP2 car, while Vincent Abril is due to link up with GTE-Am champion Team Project 1, running its customer Porsche 911 RSR.

"It has been very rewarding to see the progress of our ‘rookies’ from previous years, and the perfect example of this is Thomas Laurent, now a Toyota Gazoo Racing reserve driver after first testing the LMP1 car in Bahrain in December 2017," said WEC CEO Gerard Neveu.

"Endurance racing offers long and successful racing careers for those that choose it, as has been demonstrated by the presence of so many top names in the WEC."