World Champion of endurance driver in 2014, Swiss driver Sébastien Buemi is a pure product of the single-seaters path: Red Bull, World Series By Renault, GP2...and inspires many aspiring champions - due to the lack of opportunities in single-seaters beyond the GP2 championship - whom today are especially sought out by LM P2 outfit owners...in other words, the factory teams in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), for the Rookie Test scheduled for Sunday, November 22nd, the day after the 6 Hours of Bahrain.

James Calado and Sam Bird, the contenders - The two Brits arrived in endurance in the LM GTE classes with Ferrari and AF Corse. Third in the 2013 GP2 season, Calado is chasing down Porsche driver Richard Lietz for the FIA Endurance GT Drivers Cup. 2013 co-champion in GP2, Bird raced in LM P2 in 2015 with G-Drive Racing. He is now in the lead of the provisional driver standings. Calado and Bird finished second in LM GTE Pro and third in LM P2 at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, respectively.

Richie Stanaway and Mitch Evans, promising hopefuls - The two New Zealanders are both top players in the 2015 GP2 season, with one and two wins, respectively. They also won in the WEC at the 6 Hours of Spa: the first in LM GTE Pro with Aston Martin Racing, the second in LM P2 with Jota Sport in his first endurance race. A member of the team that won in the class at Le Mans in 2014, Evans also reached the second step on the LM P2 podium at the 2015 24 Hours. With Bird, they make up the trio of drivers invited to test the LM P1 Hybrid prototypes during the Rookie Test which will take place at Bahrain on November 22nd, the day after the closing round of the 2015 WEC. Stanaway will drive an Audi R18 e-tron quattro, Evans a Porsche 919 Hybrid and Bird a Toyota TS040 Hybrid.

No doubt the 6 Hours of Bahrain will rouse the interest of GP2 drivers, who this weekend will share for the first time ever the stage with the WEC. Will even more try their hands at the LM P2 or LM GTE Pro classes in 2016? 

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, 24 HOURS OF LE MANS, THURSDAY JUNE 11 2015, QUALIFYING. A two-time winner in the GP2 this season, Mitch Evans made an impressive debut in LM P2, with a win at Spa-Francorchamps and a second place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.