After a stellar season as a Ferrari GT factory driver, Lilou Wadoux is set to drive the Le Mans-winning Ferrari 499P Hypercar at the upcoming FIA WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain on November 5th - following up from her first hypercar test in the 2022 edition of the rookie test.
One year after joining the Ferrari GT factory roster, Lilou Wadoux is set to step for the first time in the Le Mans winning Ferrari 499P hypercar prototype, as part of the 2023 FIA WEC post-season rookie tests in Bahrain.
After the WEC season finale - the 8 Hours of Bahrain at Sakhir International Circuit - 18 cars will take part in the test designed to test drivers from backgrounds in other classes or categories. Among them, nine hypercars will be entered and at the wheel of the Ferrari #51 machine we'll find 22 year old Lilou Wadoux - who became the first ever Ferrari factory driver earlier this year.
It will be Lilou's second ever outing in a hypercar, having driven the championship-winning Toyota GR010 Hybrid last year at the same venue. The test will be the icing on the cake for a stellar campaign for the Frenchwoman, who has helped the Italian brand across four different series this year, aboard the 488 GTE, the new 296 GT3 as well as LMP2 machinery.
Among her most remarkable achievements certainly is the victory at the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps, where Lilou made motorsport history for becoming the first ever woman to win a race in class in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Sharing the Richard Mille AF Corse 488 GTE with Luis Perez Companc and Alessio Rovera, Lilou is currently seventh in the GTE AM championship standings ahead of the final round in Bahrain.
At her second year in the series - but her first in GT racing full time, having previously raced in the LMP2 class - Wadoux also entered one off rounds in IMSA Sports Car Championship, GT World Challenge Europe and GT World Challenge America in 2023 - collecting her first GTWC podium in at Barcelona at her first entry.
Wadoux has started her racing career in touring cars, before moving to the Alpine Europa Cup in 2020. In two seasons in the French one-make series, she one win and 8 podiums, eventually finishing third in the drivers' standings. She would stand on the top step of the podium in her first GT3 start, in a one off entry in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Le Mans.
From the GT4-based Alpine Europa Cup, Wadoux was straight to LMP2 machinery - and quickly delivered, with a very solid season in the Richard Mille Racing Team's Oreca that eventually attracted the attention of the Prancing Horse factory team.
At the 2022 Rookie Test, Wadoux became the first woman to drive a car in the premier endurance racing category since 2011, when Vanina Ickx drove the Lola-Aston Martin LMP1 machine. This further opportunity at the wheel of the 499P hypercar is another important step in the career of one of the brightest stars of sports car racing.
On November 5th, drivers entered in the FIA WEC Rookie Test will hit the track for a 2 hour morning session followed by a three hour afternoon session. Wadoux will be the only woman to enter the test.