Valentino Rossi, the seven-time MotoGP champion, has announced plans to continue racing a WRT BMW M4 GT3 in two series. This will be only his fourth year racing full-time in cars after retiring from two wheels at the end of 2021. Rossi expressed his fondness for racing the GT3 car and believes that the WEC and GTWCE are the top two championships in the world. He plans to participate in both championships in 2024, with eight races in WEC and five in GTWCE, which he considers to be a good number.
As part of BMW’s lineup of factory drivers, Rossi mentioned that he is unlikely to participate in the Sprint Cup segment of the 2024 GTWCE at Brands Hatch and Misano next year. His current schedule includes 16 events with BMW and WRT, along with working on a handful of MotoGP rounds with his VR46 squad, reminiscent of his former motorcycle racing schedule. Rossi emphasized that he prefers to do fewer races, not more.
Although Rossi participated in the Bathurst 12 Hours in February as part of his 2024 programme, he hinted that he is unlikely to compete in the Intercontinental GT Challenge event next year due to a clash with celebrations for his 46th birthday in mid-February. Rossi’s race number #46 throughout his MotoGP career makes this birthday particularly significant for him.
Rossi also expressed his desire to compete on four wheels at Silverstone, where he was a MotoGP winner in 2015. He mentioned his interest in potentially participating in the British GT series at Silverstone and Oulton Park, expressing his love for the British tracks.