Valentino Rossi reveals his GT3 ambitions and reasons for leaving WEC

Credit: SRO/JEP

The Italian motorcycle legend has opened up more on his rationale for leaving the World Endurance Championship (WEC) as well as his future aims in GT3 racing.

After calling time on his MotoGP career in 2021, the 47-year old made the full-time switch from the top level of motorcycle racing to sportscar racing for 2022, competing in that year's GTWC Europe season, with Team WRT. Rossi joined WRT's LMGT3 lineup in WEC for the 2024 and 2025 campaigns but it was revealed last month that he would not be coming back for a third WEC season.

Instead Rossi made the decision to return to the GTWC Europe series on a full-season basis. Explaining his reasoning in a roundtable at Bathurst earlier this month, he revealed that his preference for the style of racing in the SRO-run series, coupled with a desire to reduce travel, ultimately drove the decision.

Rossi stated: “I started with GT World Challenge, and after I moved to the WEC, because it’s a world championship, so if you win you become a world champion. I made this choice [to leave WEC] for some different reasons.

Credit: SRO/JEP

“First of all, because I like to race with just GT3s [on track]. When you have to race together with Hypercar, with multi-class racing, it’s not the same. Maybe because I come from motorcycle racing, [only GT3s] for me is more exciting.

“Also, in WEC there are a lot of races outside of Europe and you have to stay away from home for a lot of days. In Qatar you have to stay ten days, because you have the [Prologue] test a week before. Le Mans is a fantastic race, but it’s also ten days. I have two young daughters, so for me, it’s too much. I like coming to Australia, and staying just for one week in Australia, but for the rest, I prefer to stay in Europe.”

After competing sporadically in the Intercontinental GT Challenge for the last three years, Rossi expressed a clear desire to make more appearances, including his Nürburgring 24 hours debut and conquer ''The Green Hell'', alongside Bathurst and Spa.

Credit: SRO/JEP

“I want to try and race on the Nordschleife. But for sure the Spa 24 is the biggest GT3 race of the year. So I want to win Bathurst, Spa, Nürburgring.” said Rossi. The seven-time MotoGP champion also welcomed the opportunity to race in the Suzuka 1000km race.

“Suzuka is on my wish list, because anyway, if I don’t do WEC, I have more time,” Rossi stated. “I want to race at Suzuka. I love that track, and last time was 2003 [for MotoGP], so more than 20 years ago. I hope I can race it this year. If everything goes well, I will race at Suzuka this year. This is the target.''

Lastly after being asked about a future Hypercar drive possibility, Rossi added that he would be happy to compete in Hypercar if the opportunity arose, but stressed that his primary objective remains establishing himself as a top GT3 driver, adding that he is already satisfied with his current trajectory.