Valentino Rossi tests Audi GT3 car as he bids to race at Le Mans

Sports Car News

After retiring from professional motorbike racing, Valentino Rossi is looking for a team so he compete in sports car racing and enter the le Mans 24 Hours

Valentino Rossi tests WRT Audi R8 GT3

WRT Audi R8 GT3 carried Rossi's No46 and "The Doctor" branding in the side window

WRT

Valentino Rossi has tested an Audi R8 LMS GT3 car as he continues his plans to switch to sports car racing.

The nine-time motorcycle world champion is said to be considering “co-operation possibilities” with this year’s World Endurance Championship-winning W Racing Team (WRT), following his MotoGP retirement at the end of this season.

The Belgian-based outfit won the LMP2 WEC title this year, as well as taking the class victory at Le Mans.

It also operates an Audi factory team in GT racing, winning this year’s GT World Challenge Europe.

Valentino Rossi at WRT Audi R8 test

Rossi drove the WRT R8 this week at Valencia in a test with Audi Sport, the parent company of Ducati, which is supplying MotoGP bikes to his VR46 team from next year.

The car carried his trademark number 46, and multicoloured “The Doctor” lettering in the side window.

“Valentino Rossi drove a Team WRT Audi R8 LMS  in private test at Valencia,” WRT announced in a social media post.

“The Belgian squad has been testing at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo near Valencia with Audi Sport.

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“Among those taking to the track today was Valentino, with a view to evaluate future cooperation possibilities between the 9-time motorbike world champion and the reigning GT World Challenge Europe squad.”

Rossi has been planning to race cars when he retired from two-wheeled competition for more than a decade, with his first goal to race at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

He is thought likely to be on the grid in a GT car next year, with a view to racing an LMP2 car, or even a hypercar the following year.

“I said that I want to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and have a lot of car racing around the world,” said Rossi earlier this year.

“I feel that I am a rider or a driver for all lifelong. So, I just change from motorcycle to cars, for sure, not at the same level.

“But you never race for fun, just for fun. If you are a real rider or driver you race for be strong and for the win for try to have a good result.”