Rossi’s WEC Future in Doubt as WRT Lineup Takes Shape

Valentino Rossi’s future in the FIA World Endurance Championship looks in doubt as Team WRT’s 2026 driver lineups for its pair of BMW LMGT3 entries take shape.

The nine-time grand prix motorcycle racing champion has been part of the lineup of the No. 46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO for each of the past two seasons as the designated Silver-rated driver, sharing a car this year with Ahmad Al Harthy and Kelvin van der Linde.

However, expected changes to WRT’s LMGT3 roster, hinted at in the post-season Bahrain rookie test, would appear to leave no space for Rossi to continue.

As reported by Sportscar365, Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson are all-but-certain to be the Bronze/Silver pairing in one of the Belgian team’s cars, having driven the renumbered No. 69 BMW in Sunday’s one-day test, while Darren Leung and Sean Gelael are also likely to return to WRT after a year away driving for United Autosports.

Silver-rated Gelael was a last-minute addition to the test lineup aboard the No. 31 WRT BMW, having originally been slated to run for Iron Lynx instead.

Should those changes take effect as expected, it would leave no room for Rossi to be the designated Silver driver in either of the team’s lineups.

WRT team owner Vincent Vosse was coy when asked about the situation by Sportscar365, but did suggest that the team’s relationship with Rossi, which predates the Italian’s WEC involvement, could continue outside of the series.

“I would say it is up to him and what he wants to do,” Vosse told Sportscar365. “We are not imposing on him.

“We are checking what he could do. We are also looking at solutions if he doesn’t do WEC.”

Rossi first tied up with WRT in 2022 and was a full-time competitor in GT World Challenge by Europe powered by AWS for the first two seasons of his post-MotoGP career, and continued to race in the Endurance Cup in 2024 alongside WEC.

The 46-year-old scaled back to just the WEC this year, albeit adding one-off outings at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, the Misano round of the Sprint Cup, as well as the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS, which he was victorious in.

Asked for an update on his future in Bahrain, Rossi himself said it was still “possible” he could return to the WEC but admitted to uncertainty about BMW’s plans.

“Sincerely, I still don’t know the program because we have to decide together with BMW,” said Rossi in the wake of qualifying on Friday.

“I would be happy if I can do another season of WEC, but you need to make all the lineup, all the program, and we will know in the next months.”

Rossi ruled out getting any opportunity to race the BMW Hypercar in 2026 despite expressing a clear desire to eventually race the M Hybrid V8 LMDh after sampling it for the first time in last year’s Bahrain rookie test.

“Last year when I drove the Hypercar I loved the car and I wanted to race it, but unfortunately it is not possible, also for next year,” he said.

“BMW has a lot of drivers, and a lot of young drivers. It is difficult to find a place in the factory team.

“I think it will be difficult. But I don’t give up on having a chance in the future.”

John Dagys contributed to this report