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Who’s who: 2020 Marrakesh Rookie Test

This year’s rookie test is full of names and faces that might ring a bell, but we’ve saved you the searching! Prepare for all of the action and learn who’s driving your top team’s car. 

Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler

Kelvin van der Linde – At 23-years-old, the South African racer has an impressive career backing him already. Not only did he win ADAC GT Masters in his debut year and again last year, but in 2017 he also won the 24h of Nurburgring with Audi Sport Team Land.

Mattia Drudi – In 2015, the Italian, Drudi claimed 2nd in Porsche Carrera Cup Italia, an improvement on his 3rd place finish from the previous season. Prior to these accomplishments, he finished 2nd in the Italian Formula 4 Championship in 2014, just behind Lance Stroll.

Panasonic Jaguar Racing

Jamie Chadwick – Chadwick is one of two women participating in the 2020 Marrakesh rookie test. With a number of titles behind her, including W Series, ADAC TOTAL 24h Nürburgring SP8T class, and MRF Challenge – Formula 2000, from 2019 alone, she’s definitely earned her place in the car.

Sacha Fenestraz – In 2019, Fenestraz won the Japanese Formula 3 Championship in the team B-Max Racing with Motopark. To claim the title, he scored a total of 162 points from 18 podium finishes leaving only two races from the season where he didn’t appear in the top three.

NIO 333

Daniel Cao – At only 18-years-old, Chinese racing driver Cao is one of the youngest to participate in the 2020 rookie test. In 2019 he finished 3rd in the F3 Asian Championship, and in 2018 he was crowned champion of Asian Formula Renault – Pro Class.

Antonio Fuoco – Fuoco is an Italian driver that you may recognise from his appearances in GP3 and Formula 2. Notably, in 2016 he finished 3rd in the GP3 series title, just behind Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon. Since then he has gone on to win the Italian GT Championship – Sprint – GT3 Pro-Am.

DS Techeetah

Nicolas Lapierre – Frenchman Lapierre will be sitting in on the rookie test following James Rossiter’s performance in the DS Techeetah during the Marrakesh E-Prix FP1. He, too, has a long and successful history in racing. In 2018 he won the LMP2 Drivers FIA Endurance Trophy with an impressive 181 points.

Filipe Albuquerque – Most recently, Albuquerque won the FIA World Endurance Championship – LMP2 with United Autosports having scored 94 points from 4 podiums out of 5 races. His success ranges as far back as 2006 when he won the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup.

BMW i Andretti Motorsport

Lucas Auer – With a podium rate of 31.6% from throughout his career, Auer very clearly has talent. Just last year he finished 3rd in the Castrol Toyota Racing Series, appearing on seven podiums out of 15 races.

Kyle Kirkwood – At 21-years-old, American born Kirkwood has a short but successful racing past. He won the 2019 Indy Pro 200 with an impressive tally of 419 points, and in the year before that he took the title for the USF2000 Championship, winning 12 of the 14 races.

Mahindra Racing

Sam de Jonghe – In 2015, Belgian born de Jonghe won the IDIS Superlight Challenge for Deldiche Racing with a total of 132 points. To achieve this, he appeared on seven of the ten podiums. He’s been with Mahindra as their development driver since 2017 so he definitely knows his way around the team!

Pipo Derani – Derani has plenty of experience. Last year he came 2nd in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship for Whelen Engineering Racing – DPI with a tally of 297 points.

Nissan e.dams

Jann Mardenborough – The British 28-year-old will be making his return to Formula E with this year’s rookie test. He has plenty of experience in racing, having participated in various motorsports including Japanese Formula 3 and Le Mans.

Mitsunori Takaboshi – The Japanese racing driver brings yet more stories of success to the 2020 rookie test line-up. In 2017 he won the Japanese Formula 3 title, appearing on 16 podiums from 20 races. He’s very familiar with the team, too as he’s currently their test and reserve driver.

ROKiT Venturi Racing

Arthur Leclerc – The Monegasque is a returning name to the rookie test – he participated last year, too. Although he’s only 19-years-old and doesn’t have too much experience outside of karting, Leclerc has been with the Venturi team as their simulator driver since 2017.

Norman Nato – The Frenchman has experience across a variety of motorsports. In the past, he’s performed well across endurance championships. In 2018, for example, he finished 3rd in the Le Mans Series – LMP2.

GEOX Dragon

Joel Eriksson – This test will mark Eriksson’s return to Formula E. He also participated in last year’s test, although he drove under Virgin Racing for the event. In his career, he’s participated in some impressive races, including DTM where he appeared on two podiums, and the Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix where he finished 2nd in 2018.

Sergio Sette Camara – Sette Camara is known for his appearances in both FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3. In last year’s championship, he finished 4th, appearing on eight podiums. His track record has earnt him the position of test driver for the McLaren F1 team.

Mercedes-Benz EQ

Jake Hughes – The British born racing driver appeared on four podiums during the 2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship. This year he will enter the series with HWA Racelab once again with the hope of securing further podium appearances for his team.

Daniel Juncadella – In the past, Spanish driver Juncadella has competed in some very impressive events, including DTM and a number of endurance events including 24h of Spa. He has a long-running history with performing in Mercedes powered cars so he should fit very naturally into the Mercedes-Benz EQ team.

Tag Heuer Porsche

Frederic Makowiecki – Frenchman Makowiecki has plenty of experience behind the wheel, especially where endurance racing is concerned. Having been a Porsche works driver since 2014, taking a seat in the test line-up should be a familiar move for him.

Thomas Preining – The 21-year-old is the team’s designated test and development driver. He has a long history in working with Porsche across their motorsport ventures. This year he’ll be turning his hand to the Intercontinental GT Challenge alongside the Blancpain Endurance Series. Endurance racing is no new adventure to the Austrian, though.

Envision Virgin Racing

Alice Powell – The second woman to be participating in the rookie test, Powell has also done more than enough to earn her position in the test line-up. She finished 3rd in the W Series Championship last year, appearing on four podiums and winning one race from the six-event calendar. Her appearance in the new series marked her return to single-seater racing.

Nick Cassidy – New Zealander Cassidy has some really impressive statistics to his name. He’s won Formula 3 Japan and last year took the Super Formula title. His past success leaves him with a 48% podium appearance rate. The 2020 test marks his Formula E debut.

 

Image credit: FIA Formula E Media