Valentino Rossi’s Exciting Return to Car Racing with BMW in WEC and GTWCE Endurance Cup

Valentino Rossi, the seven-time MotoGP champion, has announced his plans to continue racing a WRT BMW M4 GT3 in both the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the GT World Challenge Europe (GTWCE). This marks only his fourth year of full-time racing in cars after retiring from motorcycles at the end of 2021. Rossi expressed his excitement about competing in what he believes are the top two championships in the world.

For 2024, Rossi will campaign in both the LMGT3 class within the WEC and the GTWCE Endurance Cup. He feels that this combination provides a good balance for him and is excited to be part of BMW’s factory driver lineup. Although he may not compete in the Sprint Cup segment of the 2024 GTWCE at Brands Hatch and Misano, Rossi is looking forward to participating in 16 events with BMW and WRT.

In addition to racing, Rossi will also work with his VR46 squad on some MotoGP rounds. He expressed a desire to reduce the number of races he participates in rather than increase it. While Bathurst 12 Hours was on his program for 2024, Rossi hinted that he may not compete in the Intercontinental GT Challenge event next year due to a clash with his 46th birthday celebrations. Despite this celebration potentially preventing his participation in one event, Rossi expressed interest in racing at Silverstone and Oulton Park, another British GT venue.

As Rossi plans to celebrate his 46th birthday in February, he explained that this number holds significance for him as it is similar to his jersey number when he won four MotoGP titles between 1997 and 2003. However, he also acknowledged that there may be some challenges associated with celebrating such a milestone during a global pandemic. Nonetheless, Rossi is determined to make it a memorable occasion while still being able to pursue his passion for racing.