Rossi Returns to BMW’s IGTC Lineup for Gulf 12H

Valentino Rossi will return to BMW M Team WRT’s Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli driver lineup for the season-ending Gulf 12 Hours next month.

The former MotoGP star will take part in his third IGTC outing of the season, and his second in a standalone series event after making his Bathurst 12 Hour debut in February.

Rossi also did the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, which formed part of his full-season program in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, and missed the other races at Kyalami and Indianapolis.

The Italian, who finished third in the 2019 Gulf 12 Hours, is sharing the No. 46 BMW M4 GT3 with factory IMSA GTP driver Nick Yelloly and IGTC title contender Dries Vanthoor.

BMW M Team WRT’s highest-placed championship hopeful Philipp Eng is teaming up with 2022 DTM champion Sheldon van der Linde and three-time Fanatec GT Sprint Cup champion Charles Weerts in the No. 32 car.

Van der Linde is third in the IGTC standings, tied on 62 points with Vanthoor, but his placement in the same entry as Eng means that he is mathematically out of contention.

Eng sits eight points behind Mercedes-AMG’s championship leader Jules Gounon.

However, BMW is nine points clear of Mercedes-AMG in the manufacturers’ stakes after Eng, Vanthoor and van der Linde won the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.

“It’s fantastic to be able to compete for titles at the end of such a long and eventful season,” said BMW M Motorsport director Andreas Roos.

“The Intercontinental GT Challenge 2023 has been an incredible journey across five continents, delivering significant victories at Kyalami, Indianapolis, and especially the season highlight at Spa-Francorchamps.

“We can already say that our commitment to this race series has been more than worthwhile.

“Thanks to our winning teams WRT and ROWE Racing for their efforts, to our drivers for their top performances, and to all our colleagues at BMW M Motorsport.”

Rossi will be aiming to build on his sixth-place finishes at Bathurst and Spa when he returns to the Gulf 12 Hours, an event where he has competed twice before in Ferraris.

“I’m very happy to return to the Yas Marina Circuit,” he said.

“I did this race in the past with a Ferrari and it was a great race, we finished third overall.

“I enjoyed it a lot, the track is fantastic. This year, the level of the race will be a lot higher with many fast cars and works drivers on the grid.

“We will see how we will perform and I can’t wait to race the BMW M4 GT3 at the Yas Marina Circuit. That will be a lot of fun.”