Valentino Rossi will drive a Team WRT Oreca 07-Gibson LMP2 car at the FIA World Endurance Championship Bahrain rookie test, the day after the season-closing 8 Hours of Bahrain, the team has announced.
The Italian is best known for his exploits in motorcycle racing, winning nine motorcycle world championships, with seven of those in the premier MotoGP class. However, since retiring from MotoGP in 2021, he’s taken up race driving, racing an Audi R8 LMS EVO II for WRT, switching to the BMW M4 GT3 when WRT split from Audi after 2022.
This year he’s raced in the GT World Challenge alongside Maxime Martin for WRT in the M4 GT3, winning a race in the Sprint Cup at Misano. He and Martin finished fifth in the standings in the Sprint Cup, as well as finishing 15th in the Endurance Cup, where he and Martin were joined by Augusto Farfus.
Rossi was made a BMW factory driver earlier this year, and has made no secret of the fact he wants to race at Le Mans in the future.
He’ll be joined at the rookie test for WRT by fellow BMW factory driver Charles Weerts, who also races for WRT. This will be Rossi’s first chance to sample LMP2 machinery.
The rookie test will take place on Sunday 5th November, with two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Alongside Rossi will be drivers taking part in all three classes, with Lilou Wadoux and Robert Shwartzmann driving the Ferrari 499P, Jack Hawksworth and Ben Barnicoat in ther Toyota GR010- Hybrid, and many more.
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