WEC | Rossi deserves applause: “Perfect race, just missed the podium”

It was a debut at the highest level that Valentino Rossi completed in the FIA ​​World Endurance Championship at the 1812 Km of Qatar.

The anticipation of seeing him at work on the Team WRT BMW together with Maxime Martin and Ahmad Al Harthy was high and the pressure could certainly not be lacking for the 'Doctor', ready to face an unprecedented challenge in the LMGT3 Class.

The trio of M4 GT3 #46 came close to a coup in Lusail, where at the end of a very hard-fought and far from simple race they achieved a 4th place which has a somewhat bitter taste because it only saw the podium disappear in the 'last hour.

After the preparations for the Prologue tests, where Rossi and his teammates had suffered a little more than expected, things continued to grow and the Bronze competitor of the crew, Al Harthy, obtained ninth place in Qualifying, starting in the second heat, but failing to go beyond the fifth row.

The Omani boy took on the first four hours of the race and from there it was up to Rossi and Martin to share the rest.

“I already knew the track because I had the opportunity to ride the bike around it a lot between races and tests, so this was already a good starting point”, explains Valentino.

“But with the cars the trajectories are different and the braking points change, so initially I struggled a bit, then I got used to it and the track is fun.”

“During Free Practice we managed to be quite strong and the car was working well, while in Qualifying we weren't particularly fantastic, only placing ninth.”

“I started very excited and curious to see what could happen in the race, for me this was a very new challenge and I hoped to be competitive. In the first stint I managed to go fast while maintaining a good pace, feeling very comfortable with the car “.

#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Valentino Rossi

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

The boy from Tavullia went into action when the sun was going down and the battles intensified, especially between the prototypes of the Hypercar Class which were new to him given that before Saturday he had never faced a race with these very fast cars having to compete dubbing, sometimes in critical conditions, especially if you are not an expert on the series.

Yet Rossi didn't make the slightest mistake either in giving way to LMH/LMDh or in driving his BMW and the times were close to those of Martin, who lapped at an average of 1'55″191 (best time 1'54″402 ) against the 1'55″562 (1'54″853 his fastest) of the multiple motorcycle champion.

“The second stint was a little more difficult because the circuit had a lot more rubber than the previous days, so there was more grip and the tires were put under more stress.”

“Also, for various reasons I found myself with more traffic and the dirt had increased a lot off my line, which made everything more challenging. In any case, I had a lot of fun.”

As mentioned, the M4 #46 slowly climbed the category rankings, fighting among the top five and after the seventh hour it got its wheels on the podium; when the feat seemed to have been accomplished, right at the last pit stop there was a mockery at the hands of the Aston Martin of D'Station Racing, which managed to come back in front of Martin for about ten seconds and took third place in the Class .

#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin, pitstop

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

“In the end we started the season well and finishing with a fourth place is all in all positive, even if it's a shame to have arrived very close to the podium, after fighting in the Top5, and not having put our feet on it”, admits 'Vale' , who objectively deserved to make his WEC debut by uncorking a bottle on the podium and taking home a trophy for what he showed with the entire Belgian team.

“It was a perfect race on our part, we didn't make any mistakes or break the Track Limits, my teammates and the team did a fantastic job, especially in the pit stops. In the end we just lacked a little bit of speed to reach third place.”

And thus a new adventure begins for Rossi, which he will combine with the GT World Challenge Europe continuing in the Endurance Cup to be increasingly trained in view of the upcoming WEC endurance events.

“For me this is a step forward compared to previous years, I'm in a World Championship and it makes me very proud, especially because I'm with BMW in an official car. The big difference is keeping an eye on the Hypercars that arrive really fast, but for me it is an honor to be able to share the track with all these important brands and drivers.”

#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin

Photo by: Shameem Fahath

A hint of bitterness also remains in the words of WRT Team Principal, Vincent Vosse: “We ran a solid, strong and error-free race, but we didn't have the tools to fight for a better position. The guys in the pit lane did an excellent job despite being at their first race in the WEC.”

“Finishing with a fourth place and a sixth (of the BMW #31, Ed.) is a good result, but it's not what we were looking for, so we still have some work to do to improve.”

Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, comments: “In the LMGT3 Class, we hoped until the end to reach the podium with the #46, but unfortunately it wasn't possible.”

“We'll try again in the next race, but it's a solid result that satisfies us because we scored points with both cars. This is fundamental in a championship like this, especially in a race like the one in Qatar, where there are more points up for grabs” .