From 2023 Valentino Rossi will race in the GT WCE with the BMW brand. Before the start of the championship he will participate in an “extra” event.
Valentino Rossi has been out of the World Championship since November 2021, but to the delight of his many fans he has never left the tracks permanently. He closed his first season in Fanatec GT WCE at the wheel of an Audi R8 GT3, conquering fifth place twice as the best result of 2022, but it was a first year of “general testing”, to take measures in a completely new category for the multiple MotoGP champion.
From next season, the Doctor will compete in the same European championship with the BMW M4 GT3, after his Belgian team Wrt opted for a make change. At his disposal a six-cylinder turbocharged in-line bolide from 3.0 litres and able to unleash a maximum power of up to 590 HP. He has already carried out two tests driving the new BMW and now he already has several commitments on his agenda that he still has to confirm.
Will Valentino Rossi fly to Dubai?
Initially the presence of Valentino Rossi was scheduled for the 12 Hours of the Gulf at the Abu Dhabi circuit, scheduled for December, in which he has already participated twice together with his brother Luca Marini and to his historic friend Alessio Salucci, driving a Ferrari 488 GT3. A BMW of Vincent Vosse’s Belgian team equipped with starting number 46 had been included in an initial entry list. This clearly suggested the presence of the champion from Tavullia.
Instead Wrt has decided to avoid this appointment and participate in the competition only in 2023 with BMW the M4 GT3. At this point it would seem almost obvious to participate in the Dubai 24 Hours scheduled for mid-January 2023, given that the 43-year-old from Pesaro had announced that he would like to compete in a race on four wheels during the winter, before the Fanatec GT WCE championship. Furthermore, the Belgian team has already joined this competition in the past, winning the victory in the last edition.
At the end of the year there will be an end-of-year party at BMW and the Bavarian brand will announce the official programs for 2023. In that context, clarity will also be shed on Valentino Rossi’s program in the coming months. Waiting for the boss of BMW Motorsport Andreas Roos he said he was enthusiastic about the former MotoGP rider’s participation in the GT WCE championship with the Elica brand: “Valentino has shown that he can gradually improve his performance. He wants to run and be fast. Let’s hope our M4 is fast enough to do some good racing“.
