diff --git a/test/e2e/config/vsphere.yaml b/test/e2e/config/vsphere.yaml
index ee8f345271..b1b2f48e55 100644
--- a/test/e2e/config/vsphere.yaml
+++ b/test/e2e/config/vsphere.yaml
@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@ variables:
   KUBETEST_CONFIGURATION: "./data/kubetest/conformance.yaml"
   NODE_DRAIN_TIMEOUT: "60s"
   CLUSTER_TOPOLOGY: "true"
+  EXP_RUNTIME_SDK: "true"
   # These IDs correspond to Tesla T4s, they are the decimal representation of the hex values.
   DEVICE_ID: 7864
   VENDOR_ID: 4318