“It’s boring if I don’t race!” Valentino Rossi details key change since MotoGP

Valentino Rossi is forging a four-wheel racing career which could peak at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, which has always been his fantasy.

The legend retired from MotoGP in 2021 and is now 45 years old, with wealth that other motorcycle racers could only dream of.

Days ago, Rossi secured a podium finish in just his second World Endurance Championship outing.

Rossi has delivered his most in-depth explanation of the differences he has experienced between racing bikes and cars.

“MotoGP is very easy,” he said from the WEC paddock. “You arrive on the grid, 40 minutes, the first three corners are crucial, then flat-out until the end.

“Here, you have a lot of strategy. You have to save the tyres, manage traffic, be ready to change your plans.

“It’s a big difference, and a big challenge.

“And in a lot of points of view, it’s exactly the same.

“You are sitting and you have the steering, but the braking, the lines, the fights with the others are very similar.

“I think my talent on motorcycles is exactly what I feel with the car.”

Rossi’s desire to race cars was well-known even before his iconic MotoGP career drew to a close.

“I like to be a driver who can drive everything, this is my ambition,” he said.

“I knew I wanted to race cars when I finished with the bikes.

“My problem is that I am old! I need 10 years less! But I was able to improve year after year and my target is to arrive at the level of the GT3 cars.

“It is different. When you are 45 it is normal that you are not the same as at 25.

“With motorcycles it was time to finish but it is difficult. For me, it is boring if I don’t race.

“I lived all my life like this since I was 14. I stay at home but, after two weeks, I need to go racing!”

Rossi pinpointed the team ethos of racing in the World Endurance Championship as a major change from MotoGP.

“MotoGP is singular. Here it’s much more a team work,” he said.

“Especially with the teammates in the same car.

“In car racing you always have a lot of meetings, with motorcycles it is a lot less.

“Briefings and meetings are hard work!”

"He spoke about racing, not PR"

Rossi is now in his third season of racing on four wheels.

He has aligned to Team WRT, a Belgian-based team, who gave him the chance to race in the GT World Challenge Europe for the past two years.

Team WRT’s pitch to Rossi treated him like a racing driver than a PR machine, which attracted him.

“I always wanted to race with the cars and, during my motorcycle career, I tried to understand where,” he said.

“I also like rallies, but I understood over the years that the right place was with GT3s.

“Because they are good cars, fast. Their lap times are similar to MotoGP, you enjoy driving them.

“For me, it was all new and I needed to understand with which team.

“I spoke with all the manufacturers more or less.

“But [team boss Vincent Vosse] was the guy who convinced me the most.

“He came to Tavullia and spoke very much about racing, not PR.

“I have raced all my life. I said to Vincent: ‘I just want to race’.

“In the first meeting Vincent said to me: ‘I have to put you in the right environment’.

“I said: ‘What do you mean?’

“He said: ‘You need the right teammates’.

“And it’s true.”

Rossi has already won a race on four wheels at a track which holds special memories for him.

“Last year I won a race in Misano and the feeling at the flag in P1 was exactly like a MotoGP race,” he said.

“This is why I race and it’s the same for the most part of the drivers here. For that moment. To try to win.

“That moment pays back everything.”

The ultimate goal is no secret.

“Le Mans was the first target from the beginning,” Rossi said.

“I’ve always followed it but you understand it clearly when you are a car driver.

“I was there last year and I was impressed with the atmosphere, the people. I can’t wait to race there.

“I still have to understand things especially in the race.”