diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 6fb317e225..5e18a15df9 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -93,6 +93,10 @@ test-e2e: ## Run e2e test
 	# KUBECONFIG and SSH_PK dirs needs to be mounted inside a container if tests are run in containers
 	go test -timeout 20m -v sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api-provider-aws/test/machines -kubeconfig $${KUBECONFIG:-~/.kube/config} -ssh-key $${SSH_PK:-~/.ssh/id_rsa} -actuator-image $${ACTUATOR_IMAGE:-gcr.io/k8s-cluster-api/aws-machine-controller:0.0.1} -cluster-id $${ENVIRONMENT_ID:-""} -ginkgo.v
 
+.PHONY: validate-e2e
+validate-e2e: ## Run e2e validation/gating test
+	go run ./test/e2e/*.go -alsologtostderr
+
 .PHONY: lint
 lint: ## Go lint your code
 	hack/go-lint.sh -min_confidence 0.3 $$(go list -f '{{ .ImportPath }}' ./... | grep -v -e 'sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api-provider-aws/test' -e 'sigs.k8s.io/cluster-api-provider-aws/pkg/cloud/aws/client/mock')