Valentino Rossi is set to venture into the World Endurance Championship's new LMGT3 class, teaming up with BMW for the 2024 season. The seven-time MotoGP champion and established BMW factory driver will pilot one of the two M4 GT3s run by the Belgian WRT squad, officially confirmed as BMW's representative in this revamped class in the latest 2024 WEC entry.
Transitioning from his recent GT World Challenge Europe stint with WRT in both Audi and BMW cars, Rossi expressed his enthusiasm for this WEC opportunity. The 44-year-old's eagerness to race globally again and participate in a world championship prompted his move to the WEC, including a strong desire to tackle the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours event in the top-level Hypercar class.
Rossi's inclusion in the WRT WEC team was facilitated by his status transition from gold to silver under the FIA's driver categorization system. The LMGT3 category's rules mandate one professional driver, typically platinum or gold-ranked, along with at least one bronze-rated driver and a third driver usually falling under the silver category.
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The WEC's LMGT3 class will witness the participation of nine manufacturers, each with two cars, including Ferrari, Porsche, Chevrolet, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ford, McLaren, Lexus, and BMW.
Although Rossi's entry into the WEC marks a significant shift from MotoGP, where he retired as a rider at the end of 2021, his ambition to compete in the premier Hypercar class remains unfulfilled for now. Embracing a career shift, Rossi delved into sportscar racing, initially focusing on the GT World Challenge championship, securing victories alongside seasoned BMW works drivers.
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His notable achievements include clinching his first GT World Challenge win at the Misano Sprint round and triumphing in the Road to Le Mans race at the famed French circuit. Rossi, during the WEC rookie test, drove a WRT-run LMP2 Oreca, but the replacement of LMP2 by LMGT3 in the WEC will witness him steering his familiar BMW M4 GT3 adorned with his signature #46.
The news of Rossi's foray into the WEC arrives amid the release of the series' provisional 2024 entry list, featuring 19 cars in the Hypercar class and 18 in LMGT3. Other confirmed drivers in the LMGT3 category include Jose Maria Lopez, Dani Juncadella, Davide Rigon, and Marco Sorensen, adding depth and diversity to this season's lineup.
