MotoGP Legend Valentino Rossi needs no introduction, with the 44-year-old racer from Urbino in Italy embarking on a new challenge, racing on the 13.6km circuit at Le Mans.
Valentino Rossi is the only rider to win 125, 250, 500 and MotoGP World Championships, with nine world titles on his impressive CV. Now he turns his attention to four wheeled racing and will compete in the Road to Le Mans for the first time, racing a BMW M4 GT3 prepared by WEC, ELMS and 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 champions Team WRT.
The 8th edition of the Road to Le Mans will feature 58 cars, with 20 GT3 cars on the grid for the two 55-minute races, the first at 18h30 on Thursday and the second on Friday morning at 11h30.
We caught up with Valentino Rossi to get his thoughts on his first time at Le Mans.
"It is a great honour to be in Le Mans because the 24 Hours of Le Mans is the most famous race in the world. I know this paddock very well because I raced here with the MotoGP for more than 20 years. But at the 24 Hours the atmosphere is different, you see a lot of people and the atmosphere is fantastic."
Why did you decide to move from motorcycles to cars and why endurance racing?
"I liked cars since I was very young. Before I started in motorcycles, I raced go-karts. While I was racing in MotoGP I always wanted to have a project to become a car driver and I think the GT3 category, and the endurance category, is the right way to improve my skills and be more competitive. Road to Le Mans is the first step"
Having raced on the Bugatti circuit many times, how did you find the 13.6km La Sarthe circuit?
"For sure the track is very different compared to what we use for motorcycles. My first experience was very positive, I liked it a lot. Especially for the speed because in this track you are always full throttle in 6th gear, the braking areas are very difficult, and I love the long track. So, this is a great track to make a 24 hour race."
So, when did you team up with WRT?
"The project with WRT started last year because I want to be a car driver. We are together with BMW and I became a factory driver for BMW. We don’t have a real target, we just want to be competitive with the GT3, to fight for the podium and after we will look at my speed and my skills to understand if I can drive faster cars."
Will we see you in the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year?
"This is the programme. We want to come next year and take part in the big race with the GT3 and after, we will see."
