Valentino Rossi held a test at the wheel of a BMW M4 GT3 at the Catalunya circuit. His future becomes clearer.
Valentino Rossi finished his last stage in the Fanatec GT WCE 2022 championship with a sixth position, aboard the 585 hp Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II of the Belgian team WRT. His first real experience in motor racing for the 43-year-old rookie from Pesaro ends with a fairly positive balance, who under the eyes of his fans in Misano showed off his best performance of the season with a P5.
Paired with Frederiv Vervisch and, in endurance races, also with Nico Muller, had to contend with some personal inexperience in the category. It was all in the accounts, the first year was just about gaining experience, taking measurements, confronting the best drivers in the world at the wheel of the GT3s. In the future of Valentino Rossi there will be yet another season in the GT WCE and again with Vincent Vosse’s team. Now the plans seem clear after the test held at Montmelò.
Valentino Rossi’s 2022 agenda
The Belgian racing team separated from the Audi brand at the end of the championship and from next season in the GT WCE championship will adopt a BMW and will use an M Hybrid V8 in the 2024 FIA WEC season. Although WRT has not yet announced plans for 2023 in GT, Barcelona has been working on a test that sheds light on what the future will be in the short term. The team tested two BMW M4 GT3 on the Catalunya track, a six-cylinder in-line car with a 3.0-liter engine capable of delivering up to 590 hp.
At the moment we do not know who the drivers will be behind the wheel, but everything suggests that we will meet again Valentino Rossi, intending to raise the bar of performance after the missed podium in the 2022 season. As confirmed by BMW, the champion from Tavullia was also among the drivers who tested the M4 GT3 on Monday. “It was a first outing to get to know the car better and understand better how to work“Said Wrt team boss Vincent Vosse. “It is clear that the BMW M4 GT3 is something completely different from what we have worked with before“.
There is more to Valentino Rossi’s short-term plans. In November we will see him in Valencia for the last Grand Prix of the season MotoGP 2022. Here a year ago he greeted the MotoGP paddock, here he could find himself celebrating the world title of his pupil from the Academy Pecco Bagnaia. In winter his participation in the 24 Hours of the Gulfbarring unforeseen circumstances.
