Valentino Rossi will start the 2025 World Endurance Championship with WRT as a manufacturing facility BMW driver within the LMGT3 class just some days after his milestone forty sixth birthday. This yr additionally marks a decade since he final got here near profitable a world title, when he narrowly missed the 2015 MotoGP crown to Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.
This yr additionally marks Rossi’s fourth as a full-time automobile racer, having swapped two wheels for 4 when he retired from MotoGP on the finish of 2021. He teamed up with the Vincent Vosse-helmed WRT squad for his first marketing campaign in GT Racing.
A handful of high high six leads to the GT World Problem Europe’s Endurance and Dash Cups in an Audi R8 marked a strong begin to life for Rossi in 2022. A swap to BMW equipment for WRT in 2023 noticed Rossi break his podium duck with a second on the season-opening Manufacturers Hatch Dash Cup spherical.
Then at his beloved house monitor of Misano, the place his VR46 Academy trains consistently and he gained in MotoGP thrice, he took to the highest step of the rostrum alongside Le Mans-winning co-driver Maxime Martin. The pair gained once more at Misano final yr.
In 2024, Rossi returned to world championship competitors within the WEC – as an FIA silver grade driver, downgraded from gold to fulfill standing guidelines within the collection – with WRT within the new LMGT3 class for GT vehicles.
Partnered with Martin and Ahmad Al Harthy, the trio piloted their #46 BMW M4 GT3 to a fourth within the Qatar opener, earlier than attending to second in a WRT 1-2 on the following Imola spherical that was impacted by moist climate. Again-to-back DNFs adopted at Spa and Le Mans, whereas additional points would deny good outcomes at COTA and Bahrain. A second podium for the yr got here at Fuji when the #46 automobile completed third. Rossi ended the marketing campaign sixth within the standings.
Valentino Rossi, WEC 2024
© XPB Pictures
“To begin with, Vale was racing in GT World Problem, racing within the professional class, and gained races within the professional class in Misano,” WRT boss Vosse tells Crash.internet in an unique interview. And being on the rostrum in a few of the races, combating within the professional class, which I might say was already fairly distinctive. In WEC he’s doing an incredible job, as a silver in fact, as a result of he’s beginning his fourth season.
“I imply, final yr in WEC it was a bit troublesome – nothing to do with Vale – normally in LMGT3. We had a troublesome season. We solely gained Imola first and second resulting from a particular situation. However Vale is a drive who’s, I feel, as a sportsman he’s a kind of guys that no matter he does he does it in a correct means, with a correct mindset. And Vale doesn’t do a race simply to get pleasure from and have enjoyable across the monitor.
“He’s doing it to be aggressive and that is what retains him on fireplace. It’s these moments the place he sees that he’s aggressive. I feel the enjoyment he has when he’s profitable a race just isn’t the enjoyment of profitable a race: it’s the enjoyment of being as aggressive as his colleagues. For somebody who’s reaching now very quickly his forty sixth birthday, it’s one thing who’s… I feel when another sportsmen resolve to do one thing, they resolve to do it the correct means and never midway, not simply to get pleasure from, not simply to do one thing totally different. However to do it and be aggressive, and this the place you see the good champions. And he an awesome champion he’s.”
Rossi has nothing left to show in a profession that has seen him transcend to motorsport legend. However doing issues by half has by no means been his fashion. Even his assessments in Ferrari Formulation 1 equipment within the mid-2000s have been performed with a watch on a possible swap to the collection.
Final yr, Rossi carried out a twin marketing campaign in WEC and GT World Problem Europe. Now a father of two and eager to have extra presence in MotoGP once more in 2025, Rossi confronted a dilemma over the winter about what to do that yr. Earlier this week WRT introduced that he could be specializing in WEC.
Vosse says the choice to go along with WEC over GTWCE got here as “we determined it might be an excellent platform for him”. Vosse additionally confirmed to Crash that discussions are being had with Rossi about doubtlessly competing in a few of the GT endurance occasions the Italian continues to be fond of outdoor of WEC. A choice on that is anticipated within the coming weeks.
WRT has shaken up the line-up of its #46 automobile in WEC’s LMGT3 class for this. Martin has been changed by Kelvin van der Linde, an skilled GT racer with Nurburging 24 Hours wins to his credit score and a runner-up prize within the DTM in 2024.
From the surface, it might be straightforward to have a look at WRT placing all of its chips within the #31 automobile’s basket. For 2025, it has manufacturing facility BMW hero Augusto Farfus, Timur Boguslavskiy and Le Mans winner Yasser Shahin – who steps over from Porsche – main that automobile’s cost. However that’s not how Vosse sees it.
“I don’t suppose we ever entered a championship simply to run a automobile,” he stated. “So, we proved final yr that each of our vehicles may win races or may struggle for championships. Everybody was in all probability considering that #46 may very well be the automobile and in the long run it was the #31, which can be good for me. We’ve two race vehicles. After all now we have Vale in a single automobile, [and] having Vale reaching his tenth world championship could be nice. It might be a private satisfaction. However the first job now we have to do is to carry our vehicles to a aggressive stage – and each vehicles, not just one.”
Valentino Rossi, WEC 2024, Bahrain rookie take a look at
© XPB Pictures
Final November Rossi took half within the WEC rookie take a look at in Bahrain driving one in every of BMW’s M8 Hybrid LMDh vehicles it races within the collection’ high Hypercar class. In true Rossi trend, this wasn’t performed merely to scratch an itch.
Might this result in one thing extra in future?
Vosse says: “Vale needs to be aggressive. If it’s in Hypercar or in GT, he needs to be aggressive and win. If we soar into Hypercar now, we in fact begin behind and have to shut the hole. Vale did the take a look at in Bahrain and he was clearly too fast! He was distinctive.
“It match precisely to what he must be fast. He was very enthusiastic and the smile out of the automobile was trying a bit like a race win [had been achieved], simply because he was aggressive. He was simply someplace on the highest the place he needs to be and it’s very troublesome for a sportsman like him to not see his title on high of the checklist.”
Valentino Rossi in prototype sportscar equipment at Le Mans is a salivating prospect and one the WEC itself would battle to not be proud of. The collection has loved some high names through the years setting foot in its championship. However Rossi fandom is one thing totally different – as Vosse came upon in GTWCE a number of years in the past.
“The primary race we did collectively was Imola 2022, and it was a nightmare,” he admits. “We couldn’t count on that in a championship which, I might say, didn’t usually have all these Rossi followers – however the Rossi followers are usually not solely followers of MotoGP. They’re followers of Vale and they’ll transfer wherever Vale is.
“After all, we needed to adapt after that first race. We needed to adapt a number of issues and needed to be very effectively organised to deal with these followers. You don’t see this anyplace else. We all know that in WEC there was Fernando Alonso or Jenson Button or Robert Kubica. They’re the large stars of WEC, but it surely’s removed from being on the extent of Vale [in terms of fan following].”
Although Rossi is scaling again his racing commitments in 2025, he’s exhibiting no indicators of slowing down as he gears up for a second assault on the WEC. A tenth title (which is named the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGT3 Drivers in WEC) will probably be no small activity, however Rossi has thus far confirmed he’s greater than as much as the problem…
