Rossi ‘will push a lot’ for Hypercar race chance after ‘stunning’ Rookie Test
Motorcycling legend Valentino Rossi has vowed to ‘push a lot’ to join the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar ranks in the future, after turning heads with his pace and consistency during last weekend’s ‘Rookie Test’ in Bahrain.
Fresh off the back of finishing sixth in the LMGT3 standings in his maiden campaign in the series’ LMGT3 category in 2024 – partnering Team WRT stablemates Maxime Martin and Ahmad Al Harthy to a pair of podium finishes along the way – Rossi was offered the opportunity to sample BMW M Team WRT’s Hypercar for the first time.
It might have begun as merely a speculative tryout, but after preparing for the test in advance in BMW M Motorsport’s simulator in Munich and spending his initial laps on-track familiarising himself with the BMW M Hybrid V8’s extra horsepower and grip, ‘The Doctor’ – nine times a world champion on two wheels – soon got down to business.
Benefitting from the support and advice of the team’s regular driver René Rast, by the end of the day, Rossi sat second on the timesheets amongst the 21 rookies – barely a tenth-of-a-second adrift of pace-setter Arthur Leclerc – and a superb seventh overall.
Climbing out of the cockpit with a beaming smile on his face, the Italian admitted that the experience has given him food for thought...
“I was invited to take part in the Rookie Test because I am a very young, upcoming driver!” the 45-year-old joked after completing 69 laps of Bahrain International Circuit. “Seriously, though, it was a special opportunity to drive a Hypercar for the first time, because it’s the Formula 1 or MotoGP of the prototype world. I was quite worried because I had never driven the car before, but it was a fantastic day and I enjoyed it very much.
“I felt comfortable from the first lap. The Hypercar is very exciting and a lot of fun to drive; it has plenty of horsepower – the acceleration when you open the throttle is impressive – and being 15 seconds a lap faster than the LMGT3, the straights feel a lot shorter! The tyres also have great grip with all the downforce, and you can brake very deep for the corners.
“The LMGT3 is a very good car, but it’s based upon a road car. You can push more to the limit in the Hypercar – it’s a proper racing car. Physically, it’s more demanding, but the feeling was good – it was stable and gave me good feedback. A big thank you to René [Rast], who helped me very much. Like me, he’s a great fan of telemetry and we spent time together going over all the data. He was a very good teacher.
“Sincerely, lapping so close to the top was more than I had expected. My race pace was good too, and I was able to improve my times a lot throughout the day. I have to say thank you to the team for such a great experience, and I hope I get another chance to try the car.”
Indeed, when pressed about whether this could be the precursor to a Hypercar race seat in the future, Rossi was enthusiastic.
“I hope so,” he quickly fired back. “I don’t know if it will be possible, maybe not next year, but after this test, I will push a lot.”
And when asked to summarise the Hypercar in one word, there was no hesitation: “Stunning!”
Much the same could be said for his performance behind the wheel...
