Misano, almost a year later, is still yellow. Fewer people on the ‘Marco Simoncelli’ (unfortunately due to the concomitance with the engulfing F1 in Imola), but the same enthusiasm, if not at times greater for Valentino Rossi, to achieve an extraordinary victory and a podium in the second seasonal weekend of the GT World Challenge Europe .
This year the ‘Doctor’ had chosen Brands Hatch and the home ground of the Santa Monica track as Sprint Cup commitments and if it hadn’t gone well at all in Great Britain, the redemption came with interests right in front of his own public, family and friends.
And to say that things didn’t seem to be going well for the boy from Tavullia, intent with Maxime Martin and the WRT Team on trying to refine his BMW in the test sessions which had seen him suffer compared to his teammates.
#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo by: SRO
“Racing at Misano is always nice because it is our home race and we arrived here with wonderful memories of last year. The situation seemed to be more difficult from a performance point of view, we suffered a bit in finding the right set-up of the car, trying different things during Free Practice, so initially we weren’t very happy”, explains Rossi.
“In addition, in the space of 1″ we found ourselves with 26 cars, all very fast and gaining 1 tenth could also mean moving up 10 positions. But I set out with great curiosity to see what it would be like to race at night, something I had never done in Misano.”
Friday night Qualifying showed a #46 M4 GT3 in very good form, so much so that Martin took Pole Position for Race 1 and Rossi took fifth place at the start of Race 2, his best performance in timed practice since on a GT3.
“First of all, the hope was to have a good Qualifying and improve because we hadn’t been competitive in Free Practice. In Qualifying it went very well because Maxime took Pole for Race 1 and I set the fifth fastest time for the start of Race 2, so there was every possibility to get some good results.”
#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo by: SRO
With the table, so to speak, set, the opportunity to gorge was inevitable and in Race 1 Martin held the lead authoritatively, then giving the wheel to Valentino who, after an initial phase of managing the good margin, found himself urged by colleague Charles Weerts.
Here the Pesaro driver gritted his teeth and closed all the spaces, denying any opening to the Belgian’s #32 BMW, showing the coolness of a veteran with cold blood and calm which earned him a triumph acclaimed with immense joy by the team and fans.
“It was very hard, but it’s even nicer to win like this! In fact, maybe this was even nicer than the first success last year because we knew that Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts were very fast.”
“In the morning we managed to fix some things on the car and in the race I could exit the corners well and go very fast. I have to thank Maxime who gave me the car with a nice advantage over the pursuers so I could breathe a little at the start and manage the situation.”
“Afterwards, however, it was very hard given the great pressure from Charles, who was glued to me until the end, even though I was driving very well and without mistakes. I tried not to think about it, the last lap was perfect and in the end here’s another great victory here in Misano, which I am very happy with!”
#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo by: SRO
Having quickly put the hangover aside, in the evening the cars lined up for Race 2 and at 9.00 pm the green light saw Rossi holding fifth place, while his colleague Weerts ran away from the Winward Racing Mercedes.
The local idol probably earned the overtaking prize of the event when on lap 4 he came alongside Simon Gachet’s Audi on the outside of turn 1, completing the maneuver amidst applause and taking a valuable fourth place.
Taking advantage of a very fast BMW, he then chased Giacomo Altoè’s Ferrari and here it was the usual extraordinary Team WRT that moved the yellow-blue M4 up one place at the pit stop, quickly sending Martin onto the track in third place. to his credit and the possibility of attacking Maro Engel’s Mercedes.
The German was very good at defending himself and in the end Martin/Rossi had to settle for a third place which completes the best weekend for the duo since they raced together.
#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo by: SRO
“In Race 2 another podium arrived, even though it was difficult to overtake, but I managed to overtake very well on the outside of turn 1 before giving the car to Maxime. With this third place we can say that it was a home weekend Fantastic!”.
Martin adds: “The car was very competitive, in Race 1 I started well and had a good first stint, then the team was fantastic at the pit stop and Vale managed to hold on despite the final pressure.”
“It was definitely a fantastic weekend, we got on the podium twice right at Vale’s house and we couldn’t ask for more! It was the second and last race for us in the Sprint Cup, but we can say that we ended our adventure on a high Now let’s think about the Endurance Cup.”
#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo by: SRO
GT3, LMDh and tyres: so many things in the pipeline
On the sidelines, Rossi also took stock of the situation with the journalists present at Misano, including Motorsport.com, talking about his GT3 adventure which is now in its third year and still has a lot to give and say in the future.
What has changed in these two years of GT racing for you?
“The first race in Imola in 2022 was quite… scary! For me it was all new, even though I had tested the car in winter. Here everything is different from motorbikes because the races are longer, you share the wheel with a teammate and you can’t push hard for the whole race, so there’s a lot of work to do in the pits on these things.”
“Now I have a little more experience, I managed to improve a lot from the first season and the BMW is very different from the Audi, which was very competitive but also difficult to drive, while with the M4 I feel much better in the way I drive it “.
“There is certainly a lot to learn and still grow in the various conditions because sometimes I’m not in a bad situation compared to the best and I manage to stay close to them, but others see me further away. It’s always difficult to manage the tires well and always be fast , but things are going well, I’m having fun and I hope to continue like this next year too.”
The 24h of Spa will soon take place, what are your expectations?
“It’s the most important race for the GT3s, among other things it will be a couple of weeks after Le Mans, which is certainly the most prestigious and requires a lot of preparation, in addition to the fact that you’ll have to go there 10 days before. But Spa is the I’ve already done it twice and I can say it’s fascinating, with lots of cars, great battles and a great atmosphere.”
“The first year we finished in 17th place, in 2023 we finished sixth, with the best and at full speed. The hope is to be competitive and fast in order to fight for the podium, finding those tenths that allow us to improve the position. We will test on Tuesday and Wednesday and try to improve the car, organizing the work well because we will also have to do double stints at night, which is not easy at all.”
#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo by: SRO
How are you finding yourself facing the double WEC-GTWC challenge with different tyres, without systems to pre-heat them in the World Championship?
“It’s very difficult because the car changes a lot between Goodyear and Pirelli, so you too are forced to adapt your driving style. Certainly in the WEC the challenge is more demanding starting with cold tires and at the beginning it’s very tough, while in the GTWC all drivers are happier having the ‘warmers’.”
“Moreover, in the GTWC we never do double stints with the tires because we stop to change them after about 1h05′, so you can push more than in the WEC, where the stop takes place after 45′ and requires greater management without being able to push initially, in order to preserve performance for the last laps. It is another important and challenging difference to face, but it allows me to learn new and different things, although I will certainly need time to gain experience and be able to manage both situations well. “.
What are your plans for next season?
“I have a three-year contract with BMW M Motorsport that I signed last year, so I will still be with them for 2025, most likely continuing with Team WRT in the FIA ​​WEC and GTWC Endurance, plus some Sprint races like Misano. I hope to be able to driving the LMDh before the end of the season, I think there is a possibility of doing a test in October, but in any case I think I will continue racing with the M4 GT3.”
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