GT / Tourism

Valentino Rossi takes on the Bathurst 12 Hours

For his first participation in the Bathurst 12 Hours, Valentino Rossi will try to master the terrible Australian circuit with the help of Team WRT.

Published on 02/02/2023 à 10:18

Medhi Casaurang

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Valentino Rossi takes on the Bathurst 12 Hours

Valentino Rossi kept the design of his famous number 46 in IGTC. © SRO

The 12 Bathurst 2023 Hours (February 3-5) will be contested with an internationally renowned ambassador: Valentino Rossi. The legend of MotoGP will share the wheel of a BMW M4 GT3 from the BMW M Team WRT alongside Augusto Farfus and Maxime Martin in the Pro class.

The 43-year-old Italian does not know the formidable Mount Panorama circuit, but has been used to traveling to the Antipodes during his career on two wheels. “I am very happy to return to Australia, a country that I love and where I used to go several times a year in MotoGP.

I'm absolutely delighted to discover Bathurst, which is a legendary circuit that I've always wanted to drive, and one of my favorites on the simulator. This time it will be for real and I can't wait to be there. It will be a difficult race, with a very early start and a large peloton. I will drive with Maxime and Augusto, who will be my teammates in theEndurance Cup (from the Intercontinental GT Challenge. Editor’s note) this year, so it's a very good opportunity to start working together, and we will give the best of ourselves to be competitive. »

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His Belgian boss, Vincent Vosse, is eager to do battle. “ It's great to return to Bathurst, one of the best endurance races in the world, which we had the joy of winning during our first participation in 2018 (with Audi. Editor's note). I really place Bathurst among the legendary circuits and races of our discipline, with Spa, the Nordschleife, Le Mans and Macau, one of those places where you feel the weight of history and the circuit itself.

Bathurst is a particularly difficult circuit, where the primary objective is simply to stay on the track. We will approach this race with a lot of humility, knowing that we still have a lot to learn about the BMW M4 and trying not to put too much pressure on ourselves, although we are competitors and we always have a good result in sight. We won at the 24 Hours of Dubai, but that is now behind us, and we have to concentrate on the new adventure that is about to begin. »

Medhi Casaurang

Passionate about the history of motorsport across all disciplines, I learned to read thanks to AUTOhebdo. At least that's what my parents tell everyone when they see my name inside!

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