Rubens Barichello on his way to Le Mans

This invitation is also extended to drivers who have not contested the race for over five years, to refresh their memories on the positioning of marshal posts, safety procedures and night driving.

The AOTech course is geared more towards race simulation than honing driving technique, ensuring that it has relevance for drivers of all experience levels.

Either the drivers are Indycar champions or Formula one drivers, all the Rookies must do this simulator training before taking part to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

This morning ex-Formula 1 star Rubens Barichello who will race for ELMS team Racing Team Nederland in the 24 Hours of Le Mans did his simulator training ahead of the test day on Sunday 4^th of June in order to get to know the famous track of La Sarthe.

He told us about how this big adventure started:

“I got a call from Jan Lammers and he told me that the car would be competitive and that it would be a good show to introduce myself at Le Mans in a competitive way. I thought it was a good idea. We saw each other in a test session at Sebring, and I was happy to have one day and a half in the car there. In terms of speed, an LMP2 is a kind of mid-term between the cars from Brazilian Stock Car I am currently racing, which is slower, and a Formula 1 which is faster. Nowadays, the cars go flat out the whole way at Le Mans, and for me this is the attraction. I previously ran at Monaco, Monza and Indianapolis, so competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans has always been on my mind.”

On Sunday, he will also have to do at least 10 laps of the 24 Hours track.