Rossi Expects to Remain in GTWC Europe Next Year

Valentino Rossi has indicated that he expects to remain in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS next year, with the Italian stating he is “90 percent” sure of returning.

The seven-time MotoGP world champion embarked on his first full season of GT racing this year, driving a WRT-run Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II in the Endurance and Sprint Cups.

Rossi briefly declared during last weekend’s TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa that he is looking to continue with a similar program next year, although WRT will no longer be running Audis.

“I think that also next year I will race in this championship,” he said.

“This is the program now, so 90 percent it’s like this. At this moment, I don’t think that I will race at Le Mans next year. It’s not sure, but for sure I will race in this championship also next year.”

Rossi currently shares the No. 46 Audi with factory drivers Nico Mueller and Frederic Vervisch, who is his Sprint Cup driving partner.

Commenting on Rossi’s wishes to remain in GTWC Europe, WRT team principal Vincent Vosse said: “We have nothing fixed, but I think it works well between us and I don’t see why we should change anything.”

Rossi has previously expressed interest in racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the future.

A drive in that race next year would be particularly challenging since the event will be using GTE cars for one last time before transitioning to a GT3-based formula in 2024.

Speaking at the Endurance Cup season-opener back in April, Rossi identified Le Mans as a target race.

“I want to race at Le Mans soon, in the next years,” he said.

“It’s not the priority like yes or yes. But I want to try to improve as a driver. I want to arrive ready because Le Mans is a target for everybody. It is the most famous race in the world.

“This year we concentrate on Spa, but I hope that in the future we also have the chance to race at Le Mans.”