Valentino Rossi unveils 2026 livery for GT Challenge season
- Owen Bradley
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
Written by Owen Bradley
Valentino Rossi and BMW have revealed their livery for the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe season.
Following his exit from the FIA World Endurance Championship, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi will return to the GT World Challenge Europe full-time, competing in all of the Sprint and Endurance rounds.
This new livery, featuring a white, black and yellow design, is slightly different compared to previous versions of the Italian's livery in the GTWC, which have featured a blue and yellow colour scheme.
The introduction of the white and black colours are more frequently seen on other BMW's, therefore meaning this livery has been redesigned to fit in line with BMW's colours.
Rossi has enjoyed great success in the GTWC since his debut back in 2022. In 2023, 'The Doctor', managed to achieve three podium finishes, including a victory at his home race in Misano.
In 2024, continuing through to 2025, Rossi split his commitments with the GTWC, alongside a full championship campaign in the WEC, and raced at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans on two occasions.
At Le Mans, Rossi and the No.46 BMW squad were able to lead the race, both in 2024 and 2025, before former team-mate Ahmad Al-Harthy crashed, and Kelvin van der Linde experienced technical issues with the car. Both incidents forced them to retire in 2024 and 2025.
However, Rossi boasts an especially impressive record at the GTWC Misano round, having won at least one out of the two sprint races every single year since 2023. 'The Doctor' has only been competing in the GTWC since 2022 after a 26-year career in MotoGP.
With the last full-scale commitment to the GTWC coming in 2023, where Rossi was able to secure three podium finishes in the European championship, alongside additional podiums at the Dubai 24 Hours and the Gulf 12 Hours - The Italian has learned a lot.
Competing in the WEC for two seasons, Rossi was able to stand on the podium four times, twice at Imola. However, the Italian decided to depart from the championship.
Rossi stated: "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."
Rossi continued: “In WEC there are a lot of races outside of Europe and you have to stay away from home for a lot of 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.”
With full dedication and focus on the GT World Challenge Europe, and frequent podiums and victories in GT races around the world, Valentino Rossi is tipped to be a top contender in the championship, especially with the arrival of new team-mates, in Dan Harper and Max Hesse.
Alongside his young family and racing commitments, Rossi still helps manage his VR46 Academy and VR46 Racing Team in MotoGP.
The 2026 GTWC Europe championship gets underway on the 10th-11th April in Paul Ricard, France.
Comments