“People forget that Valentino Rossi had track time with Ferrari!”
Rossi joined Team WRT for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe after retiring from his legendary MotoGP career at the end of 2021.
He shone on his most recent outing, at his home race in Misano, and will tick off one of his dream races at the 24 Hours of Spa on July 28-31.
“What Vale is doing today is very impressive,” his team boss Vincent Vosse told Sportscar365.
“The dedication that he puts in after all those years giving his lifetime to MotoGP, to find the inspiration to do what he does today is very impressive.
“People maybe forget a bit too quick that, yes he had some track time with Ferrari in the past, but that was a different era.
“Now, he is 43 and he arrived in a very competitive field, which is probably one of the most competitive fields you can find.
“Endurance is even more competitive, but what could he do which would be more of a challenge than this? In LMP2 there are fewer cars. There are Silver drivers and the cars are easier to drive.
“In GT3 you can see great drivers coming from formula racing, winning Le Mans and being completely lost. The guy is 43 and progressing like hell, and doing a great job with a great attitude.”
Rossi will team with Frederic Vervisch and Nico Mueller in the #46 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II at Spa-Francorchamps.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
