FIA WEC – Rookie Test, Bahrain: Théo Pourchaire and Clément Novalak at the Wheel of the PEUGEOT 9X8

Since 2015, the FIA World Endurance Championship has held a Rookie Test day following the last race of the season. This year, Team Peugeot TotalEnergies invited two former F2 drivers, Théo Pourchaire and Clément Novalak, to drive the 2024 PEUGEOT 9X8 evolution on the Bahrain circuit.

Malthe Jakobsen, test driver and future official driver for Team Peugeot TotalEnergies in 2025, and Paul Di Resta, primary driver for car #94, were responsible for supporting the two rookies during the day and setting up the reference times and setups during the morning session.

Théo Pourchaire took the wheel of car #93 mid-morning for two short laps before returning early in the afternoon for a long stint on hard tires. Clément Novalak (#94) completed his first laps just before the lunch break to get familiar with the car.

Unfortunately, a technical issue immobilized the PEUGEOT 9X8 #94 at the edge of the track right after the session resumed, causing a red flag. Clément then took over car #93, completing a total of 19 laps and setting his best time at 1min51.670. Théo Pourchaire completed 17 laps with a best lap of 1min51.926.

Olivier Jansonnie, Technical Director of Peugeot Sport
“Théo and Clément drove as planned during the Rookie Test with an introductory run in the morning and longer runs with a set of new tires in the afternoon. They both grasped the strengths and weaknesses of the car well and provided excellent feedback. They are both professional and very fast drivers. It was an interesting day.”

Théo Pourchaire
“It was a great experience. I hadn’t driven since July, so thank you to Peugeot for this opportunity to drive here in Bahrain, a track I know very well. I was able to focus on the car, which is very complex with all the systems on the steering wheel, the hybrid, the power, etc. The team welcomed me very well in Satory for the simulator session and put me in the best possible conditions. Malthe helped me a lot, as did the engineers. I’ve always wanted to discover endurance racing; it was a very interesting day.”

Clément Novalak
“The session went very well for me. The car is enjoyable to drive. It’s much heavier than a single-seater but also more powerful than an F2, so driving it is different. I had a lot of discussions with Paul and Malthe as well as with the engineers, and I learned a lot throughout the day. I really enjoyed the experience.”

Malthe Jakobsen
“It was a great day, and I was very happy to be back with the team. I was able to drive both PEUGEOT 9X8s and do long stints this afternoon—it was intense! I still feel new in the team, even though I now know everyone. I was in the same situation as Théo and Clément two years ago during the Rookie Test, so I did my best to help them. I’m happy to have met them; they did a great job.”