Valentino Rossi at the dawn of a new challenge in the WEC

Valentino Rossi will be one of the big attractions of the 2024 FIA season WEC. The Italian, who has just celebrated his 45th birthday (February 16), will drive in a BMW M4 GT3 from the WRT team alongside Ahmad Al Harthy and Maxime Martin.

« I am really impatient, told The Doctor during a round table organized this Wednesday at the Losail International Circuit (Qatar) at which AUTOhebdo was present. This is something new for me. Driving in the WEC is an important step after the last two years. Everything is different and I have to absorb everything that happens during the weekend, especially in the race. I'm really proud to be here with BMW as a factory driver. I hope to be competitive. »

The man with nine motorcycle world championship titles will have the chance to start this new adventure on a circuit that he knows well, with 18 Grands Prix contested on this track, for a pole position, two best laps, 10 podiums and four victories (2005, 2006, 2010, 2015). “ I like the track, I've known it for a long time, it's a good thing for me to start here », recognizes the Transalpine. Of course, the effort will not be the same this weekend on a ten-hour race like the 1 km of Qatar this Saturday.

« En MotoGP, it's 40 minutes flat out. Here, these are long races where you have to manage the tires. There's a lot of strategy, a lot of work in the pits when it comes to driver changes. Honestly, I'm having a lot of fun. » For his third full season on four wheels after two years in GT World Challenge, OK knows on which points he still needs to improve, especially when confronting the world's elite in the discipline.

« The level in GT racing is very high, there are many drivers who are capable of taking their cars to the limit, analyzes the Italian. At first it was difficult for me. I tried to improve and I made good progress between the first season and the second. I'm fast, but I'm still missing a little something compared to the best. The goal is to get to this level. It's difficult, but I'm not very far from it. I have to better understand the laps coming out of the pits on new tires, have a good pace without making any mistakes, paying attention to the track limits, especially here! »

One of the main new developments for Rossi will be to manage traffic in relation to the Hypercar category: “We have to manage to negotiate this carefully, but while being careful not to lose too much time. In MotoGP, I was not faced with this situation and this difference in speed between two categories. »

Valentino Rossi in Hypercar? “I don’t know if I would be fast enough”

By discovering the WEC in LMGT3 this year with BMW, is Valentino Rossi preparing to race in the Hypercar category with the German manufacturer in the future?

« I don't know if I would be fast enough to drive a Hypercar, honestly admits the person concerned. There are so many Platinums in this category... I want to drive one, I'm pushing BMW for that. Andreas (Roos, director of motorsport at BMW M. Ed.) promised me that I would test one by the end of the season. I tested an LM P2 last year (at the WEC Rookie Test in Bahrain. Editor’s note) to understand how a prototype works. From my point of view, a Hypercar is more similar to a motorcycle than a GT, especially in terms of trajectories. I want to test one, we'll see then. »

See you this Saturday March 2 for the 1 km of Qatar, the opening round of the 812 FIA WEC season.

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