The official test session called the Rookie Test of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) takes place at Bahrain the day after the last round of the season. It affords three up-and-coming young drivers the opportunity to take the wheel of an LM P1 hybrid prototype. Frédéric Sausset's feat at the 24 Hours of Le Mans made him the hero of the 2016 edition, and Paul-Loup Chatin became the first French driver invited to the Rookie Test, where he drove the Audi R18.

Frédéric Sausset, the exploit - On Sunday, June 19th at 3:00 p.m., Frédéric Sausset crossed the finish line at Le Mans, the ultimate reward for his hard work of three years. During the two weeks leading up to the 2016 24 Hours, he also earned the unanimous respect of the other drivers and team owners. In November at the annual Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile awards ceremony, Frédéric Sausset was given a lengthy standing ovation and a special trophy...elegantly saluted with a thumbs up by no less a figure than Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, head of Audi Motorsport. With the invaluable support of his two teammates Christophe Tinseau and Jean-Bernard Bouvet, Frédéric Sausset is now a full-fledged gentleman-driver, continuing the legacy of other entrepreneurs turned solid racing competitors. Thanks to him, this year Garage 56 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for an innovative prototype competing outside the standings, was the stage for a remarkable human adventure.

Paul-Loup Chatin, the reward - Selected along with American driver Gustavo Menezes and the Brazilian Pipo Derani, Paul-Loup Chatin won his spot in the Rookie Test of the World Endurance Championship (WEC) as a result of his LM P2 title in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) in 2014, his third place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (also in 2014) and his win in the class in the 2015 World Championship at the 6 Hours of Shanghai. In 2016, he joined new team Panis-Barthez Compétition. Though his performance at the Rookie Test was court shut by technical problems - he is the last driver to have taken the wheel of the R18 hybrid prototype R18 before Audi's adieu - much more success undoubtedly awaits Paul-Loup Chatin in the future.

Click here for previous installments::

2016 Review - French driver honor roll (1) - Romain Dumas, Nicolas Lapierre, Emmanuel Collard and François Perrodo

2016 Review - French driver honor roll (2) - Sébastien Bourdais

2016 Review - French driver honor roll (3) - Loïc Duval, Stéphane Sarrazin and Pierre Thiriet

Photo: Frédéric Sausset, Christophe Tinseau and Jean-Bernard Bouvet lauded well-deservedly by Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, and the public.