Valentino Rossi brought his stage in MotoGP to an end after a glorious career in which he won 9 world titles, however, definitive retirement is not an option for the Italian.
After leaving the motorcycling championship, the man from Tavullia is preparing to make the leap to GT racing in the not too distant future. After being received at the Quirinal Palace, in Rome, by the President of the Republic of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, Rossi took a flight to be in Valencia testing an Audi .
The car in question was the WRT team’s R8 LMS GT3, in which Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor took the 2021 GT World Challenge Europe championship. For the occasion, the car was decorated with the iconic #46 on the side and the inscription ‘V.Rossi’ with the Italian flag was added, in addition to the 2022 Evo package.
At the Ricardo Tormo Circuit, the Audi Sport customer teams carried out the last tests together for the coming season with the GT2, GT3, GT4 and TCR cars.
It is no secret that Rossi is thinking about what to do with his future , the option of landing in Audi-WRT and participating in the GTWC and the 24 Hours of Spa, sounds more and more powerful.
Valentino Rossi, Vincent Vosse, Team WRT
However, there is also the possibility that ‘Il Dottore’ will take a different tack, and that his career will focus on the FIA WEC. The Italian is evaluating the options and the first commitment with a team linked to the World Endurance Championship would be in the 12 Hours of the Gulf, with the Kessel Racing Ferrari.
Valentino Rossi has been at the controls of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 of the WRT in this private test in Cheste, as Vincent Vosse’s team confirmed. “This week, the structure has been testing with Audi Sport, and today it was his turn to go out on the track. We are evaluating possible future collaborations between us and the nine-time motorcycling world champion.”
The one from Urbino is still in a phase of assessing what he has on the table, and Ferrari and Audi are just two possibilities among all those offered by the world of GT. In a few weeks, Rossi will have to choose which path to take for the 2022 season, the first away from the Motorcycle World Championship since 1996.
