Valentino Rossi will start the 2025 World Endurance Championship with WRT as a manufacturing unit BMW driver within the LMGT3 class just some days after his milestone forty sixth birthday. This 12 months 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 12 months additionally marks Rossi’s fourth as a full-time automotive 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 prime prime six ends in 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 change 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 dwelling monitor of Misano, the place his VR46 Academy trains continuously 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 12 months.
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 sequence – 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 12 months got here at Fuji when the #46 automotive completed third. Rossi ended the marketing campaign sixth within the standings.
Valentino Rossi, WEC 2024
© XPB Photographs
“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.web in an unique interview. And being on the rostrum in among the races, combating within the professional class, which I’d 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 12 months in WEC it was a bit troublesome – nothing to do with Vale – usually in LMGT3. We had a troublesome season. We solely gained Imola first and second as a consequence of a particular situation. However Vale is a drive who’s, I believe, as a sportsman he’s a type of guys that no matter he does he does it in a correct method, 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 hearth. It’s these moments the place he sees that he’s aggressive. I believe the enjoyment he has when he’s profitable a race shouldn’t be 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 believe when another sportsmen determine to do one thing, they determine to do it the precise method 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 a terrific 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 model. Even his assessments in Ferrari Method 1 equipment within the mid-2000s have been carried out with an eye fixed on a possible change to the sequence.
Final 12 months, 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 12 months. Earlier this week WRT introduced that he can be specializing in WEC.
Vosse says the choice to go together 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 among 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 automotive 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 automotive’s basket. For 2025, it has manufacturing unit BMW hero Augusto Farfus, Timur Boguslavskiy and Le Mans winner Yasser Shahin – who steps over from Porsche – main that automotive’s cost. However that’s not how Vosse sees it.
“I don’t suppose we ever entered a championship simply to run a automotive,” he mentioned. “So, we proved final 12 months that each of our vehicles may win races or may struggle for championships. Everybody was in all probability pondering that #46 may very well be the automotive and in the long run it was the #31, which can be good for me. We have now two race vehicles. After all we’ve got Vale in a single automotive, [and] having Vale reaching his tenth world championship can be nice. It will be a private satisfaction. However the first job we’ve got to do is to carry our vehicles to a aggressive degree – and each vehicles, not just one.”
Valentino Rossi, WEC 2024, Bahrain rookie take a look at
© XPB Photographs
Final November Rossi took half within the WEC rookie take a look at in Bahrain driving considered one of BMW’s M8 Hybrid LMDh vehicles it races within the sequence’ prime Hypercar class. In true Rossi style, this wasn’t carried out merely to scratch an itch.
Might this result in one thing extra in future?
Vosse says: “Vale desires to be aggressive. If it’s in Hypercar or in GT, he desires to be aggressive and win. If we bounce 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 automotive was wanting a bit like a race win [had been achieved], simply because he was aggressive. He was simply someplace on the highest the place he desires to be and it’s very troublesome for a sportsman like him to not see his title on prime 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 sequence has loved some prime names through the years setting foot in its championship. However Rossi fandom is one thing totally different – as Vosse came upon in GTWCE just a few 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’d say, didn’t usually have all these Rossi followers – however the Rossi followers will not be 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 just a few issues and needed to be very properly organised to deal with these followers. You don’t see this wherever else. We all know that in WEC there was Fernando Alonso or Jenson Button or Robert Kubica. They’re the massive stars of WEC, however it’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) can be no small process, however Rossi has to this point confirmed he’s greater than as much as the problem…
