Rossi Departs WRT LMGT3 Lineup After Two Seasons

BMW has confirmed that Valentino Rossi will depart the FIA World Endurance Championship after two seasons as Team WRT overhauls its LMGT3 lineups for the third year of its program.

As previously reported by Sportscar365, the future of Rossi’s position in WEC had looked in doubt as the Vincent Vosse-led squad welcomes Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson to the team, while Darren Leung also returns after a year away.

On Thursday, BMW confirmed that Leung would reform the lineup that took the brand’s maiden LMGT3 win at Imola in 2024, with longtime co-driver Sean Gelael and factory ace Augusto Farfus also piloting the No. 32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

McIntosh and Thompson, meanwhile, will team up in the No. 69 machine with Dan Harper, with that lineup set to debut at this weekend’s Asian Le Mans Series opener at Sepang.

BMW made no mention of Rossi’s plans for the 2026 season, although it is expected that he will return to GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS.

De Phillippi, Verhagen Form Full Season GTD Pro Pairing for Paul Miller Racing

Additionally, BMW also confirmed that Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen will form the full season driver pairing for Paul Miller Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Tuesday’s release of the Rolex 24 at Daytona entry list already revealed that De Phillippi and Verhagen will share the No. 1 BMW with Harper and Max Hesse for the Florida endurance classic.

However, no mention at the time was made of the exact composition of the lineup for the remainder of the campaign.

De Phillippi returns to a full-time capacity in the WeatherTech Championship for the first time since he was dropped from the Munich brand’s factory GTP effort, contesting the Michelin Endurance Cup races with Paul Miller last year.

Hesse, who drove full-time alongside Harper this past season, will support De Phillippi and Verhagen for the long-distance races.

Harper, for his part, takes a step back from WeatherTech Championship competition due to his new WEC commitments and will only drive the No. 1 machine at Daytona.