Valentino Rossi’s third season as a GT driver is about to end and preparations for 2025 are already being evaluated, but nothing has been decided yet.
One thing that is certain is that for a few weeks the ‘Doctor’ has been in the classic ‘leaving the daisy’ phase, trying to figure out how to best organize himself in view of next year, where the Team’s BMW M4 GT3 will still be waiting for him. WRT, this time in EVO version.
For the moment the only confirmation that the boy from Tavullia has already revealed at the end of July is his presence at the Bathurst 12h for the third consecutive time, when the Australian race will kick off the Intercontinental GT Challenge on the first weekend of next February .
On the other hand, when Valentino said enough with MotoGP it was also due to the fact that there had long been too many races in the space of one season, but in 2024 with the double commitment GT World Challenge Europe-Endurance Cup and FIA World Endurance Championship events totaled 13, plus the extra stages of Bathurst, Brands Hatch and Misano Adriatico which added further irons to his agenda.
#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin, #46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo credit: JEP / Motorsport Images
“Honestly, I realized that 16 races are too many and I find myself in the same situation as in the MotoGP. I’m tired and my partner Francesca gets angry because I’m always out and about!”, admitted Rossi in the exclusive video interview granted to Motorsport.com .
“This year I tried because I wanted to better understand what it meant. For 2025 my goal is to run 10-11 races. I’ll start at Bathurst, then I have to decide whether to do GTWC or WEC.”
“One is a World Championship and therefore winning the title means becoming World Champion, but in the SRO series the races are really very good, all GT3. It’s a difficult choice and I haven’t made it yet.”
#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3: Raffaele Marciello, Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
It must also be said that competing in the five rounds of the GTWC Endurance would give much more leeway for the addition of any extra races, such as Misano and a request for an invitation to the 24h of Le Mans, plus the aforementioned Bathurst and something in more to choose from together with the team of Vincent Vosse and BMW M Motorsport.
The French classic has always been a passion for the Marche region and this year it ended prematurely, after just one racing stint (which was also handled very well), due to an accident by his teammate Ahmad Al Harthy.
Signing up for the FIA WEC would give you the guarantee of continuing to go to the Circuit de la Sarthe and continuing a path that began in LMGT3 this year, with 8 races scheduled to which you can add those written above related to the world of SRO, plus the 24h of Spa -Francorchamps.
GT Podium: #46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin
Photo credit: JEP / Motorsport Images
In short, many things that give space to wide-ranging reasoning, also in view of further challenges that excite Rossi.
“Finding yourself in the middle of the prototypes is quite a… hassle! First of all, it’s dangerous and you have to be careful, always driving while keeping an eye in the rear-view mirrors. And then the prototype drivers arrive very fast and don’t ask you ‘sorry, can I pass?’, but they get in and go. It’s tough, if I have to say I prefer to race only with the GT3s, but in the WEC coexistence with the prototypes becomes part of the race and the driver must be good at managing everything”
“Other races? Daytona isn’t bad and I’d like to do it, while the Nordschleife was one of my first objectives together with the 24h of Le Mans, but the problem is that you need to run 1-2 races first with a smaller car to get the license And honestly I don’t want to get into a car smaller than a GT3.”
We will therefore need to understand what is best for Rossi on 4 wheels, considering that his second daughter will be born in January and that his professional commitments with the VR46 Academy are an aspect that should not be overlooked.
“This year I was disappointed not to be present as much at the races and I had less time to work with our Academy riders. In 2025 I want to be more present, so I will do fewer races for that too.”
Watch: ROSSI EXCLUSIVE: “VOSSE believes it, the OTHERS WANTED the CHARACTER”
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