GTWC | Rossi betrayed by the steering: “Suffered more than expected”

A weekend to quickly forget, or at least to put in the archive trying to find those few positive aspects, for a Valentino Rossi who was rightly disappointed by what happened at Brands Hatch.

Returning to the track where he achieved his first podium in the GT World Challenge Europe last year, the ‘Doctor’ and his teammate Maxime Martin struggled from the start of on-track activities to find a competitiveness that the #46 BMW seemed just not wanting to give.

Since Free Practice there have been problems and mistakes, such as the one Rossi made when he spun after grazing the wet grass when exiting a corner, but Qualifying revealed that the yellow-blue M4 was not in shape, despite the efforts of Team WRT to try to eliminate the understeer complained of by both the boy from Tavullia (13th in Q1) and his Belgian teammate (11th in Q2).

“Unfortunately it didn’t go very well, I only set the 13th time and Maxime the 11th; we had a lot of problems and we weren’t able to be as fast as last year, suffering from a lot of understeer which made life difficult for us “, Valentino admitted.

“After Free Practice we had made several changes to the car, we hoped to have solved the problems but instead they remained the same, as did the negative feeling.”

“After all this suffering, the idea for the races was to try to change everything by trying to find something better. We knew that starting from behind on this track would be tough, but an attempt had to be made.”

#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin

Photo by: SRO

On Sunday the two races inevitably proved to be uphill, with Rossi fighting in the middle of the pack at the start of the first round and then leaving room for Martin for the second part, the latter capable of getting back on top and finishing fifth.

However, a 5″ penalty for exceeding speed in the pit lane during the pit stops sent the duo to 15th place, also thanks to the group brought together by the entry of the Safety Car in the final laps.

Race 2 was started by Martin, who with his proverbial determination recovered up to 7th place, then giving the wheel to Rossi who returned to 6th place after the stops. Here the Pesaro driver did everything he could to defend himself, but first Tom Gamble’s McLaren and then his colleague Dries Vanthoor’s BMW found the opportunity to overtake him.

Eager to keep at least a Top10 within reach, Rossi ran into a frightening episode with 6′ to go, when the car’s steering momentarily locked while tackling the hill of Turn 1.

The ‘Paddock Hill Bend’ fortunately offers a wide escape route and the BMW traveled several meters in the dirt before returning to the pits, where Valentino visibly showed the concern of those moments by telling the mechanics what he had experienced while trying to bend, but in vain.

#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin

Photo by: SRO

“In Race 1 we managed to improve the car’s set-up a little by finding a more competitive pace, but unfortunately the result here is often the result of the starting position on the grid, given that the track is very narrow and it is difficult to overtake. It’s a shame that I got the penalty for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane.”

“In Race 2 Maxime immediately went fast and recovered positions. We hoped it wouldn’t rain and we managed to adopt a good strategy, with a driver change and very quick pit stops. Unfortunately I had a steering problem and we had to withdraw.”

Rossi-Martin’s Sprint Cup program included first the trip to England and then the mid-May trip to Misano Adriatico, where their first great success in the series came in 2023, which is why we will need to quickly turn the page and think about the race home.

“We came to Brands Hatch very motivated because last year I achieved the first podium here with the BMW, but this time it was really more difficult! We suffered more than expected, even if it remains a pleasure to race on this track. Now let’s think about Misano and let’s see what we can do!”

Martin adds: “It wasn’t the weekend we expected, but it’s always nice to race on an ‘old school’ track like this. It was still a positive event for the team, as the #32 BMW won Race 1, while we fought some good battles and even had fun in some moments. Now let’s see what will happen in Misano!”