Verstappen and Rossi: The story behind two icons set to race each other in the GTWC Europe finale
Max Verstappen and Valentino Rossi are two of motorsport’s greatest icons. The pair will both compete against each other for the very first time on track at the GT World Challenge in Portimão.
The Dutchman and the Italian are two of the most recognisable sports stars in the world. Verstappen is a four-time F1 world champion racing in the sport for over a decade with Red Bull Racing. Meanwhile, Rossi is a nine-time MotoGP world champion and widely considered to be the greatest motorcycle racer of all time.
The two motorsport legends have a shared interest in GT racing, with Verstappen competing at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring earlier this year and Rossi competing in the GTWC Europe from 2022 onwards, following his retirement from MotoGP at the end of the 2021 season.
2021 was a major year in both of their lives, with Rossi stepping back from motorcycle racing after a 26-year-long career, and Verstappen claiming his first F1 championship in a fight against Lewis Hamilton.
While their backgrounds couldn’t have been any more diverse, the headline remains strong as ever: An F1 champion and a MotoGP legend are set to compete against one another in GT3 machinery at Portimão, setting up a titanic clash.
Max Verstappen’s GT racing journey
In May 2025, shortly after Verstappen completed a private test at the Nürburgring under the pseudonym “Franz Hermann”, rumours circulated that the Dutchman had broken the unofficial lap record of the Nordschleife, setting a 7:48.000. Ahead of the 2025 Emilia Romagna GP, Verstappen confirmed that he had, indeed, broken the unofficial record.
GT champion Maro Engel responded to the claim that Verstappen had broken the lap record, saying on X: “Few facts to Franz Hermann GT3 Nordschleife Test: Car was run in DTM spec BoP (less weight, more power, lower ride height than NLS BoP).”However, Verstappen was quick to dismiss Engel’s statement, saying: “False. Don’t spread things when you don’t know how the car was set up and our engine settings. Why would I join a NLS track day with the wrong BoP?”
In September 2025, just after coming back from F1’s summer break, Verstappen announced he would race at the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a de-tuned Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 car alongside GT driver Chris Lulham, in order to obtain a DMSB permit that would allow him to compete in GT3 machinery around the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Later that month, Verstappen returned to the Nürburgring to make his GT3 debut, racing a Red Bull-sponsored Ferrari 296 GT3 machine in the ninth round of the NLS championship.
The Dutchman was partnered by Lulham once again. The pair dominated proceedings in NLS9 and Verstappen won on his competitive GT3 debut.
The Dutchman’s next appearance at the Nürburgring Nordschleife came in March 2026, competing in NLS2. This time around, Verstappen was racing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 machine run by Winward Racing. The four-time champion immediately set the pace, putting the No.3 Verstappen Racing Winward Mercedes squad on pole position with a rapid lap time, setting a 7:51.751 around the Nordschleife.
During the race, Verstappen enjoyed a battle against GT racing legend Christopher Haase. The pair duelled several times before the Dutchman eventually got past the German. Verstappen handed over to his teammates, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella, and the Winward Mercedes team came over the line to take the chequered flag.
However, the No.3 Verstappen Winward Mercedes team was then disqualified from the race after breaching the NLS tyre rule. The Winward team had used one set of tyres too many, and the Dutchman was subsequently stripped of a race win.
Verstappen returned to the Nürburgring Nordschleife once again in April, for the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers race. Starting from fifth on the grid, the Dutchman quickly dispatched several cars before locking horns with Haase once again. Verstappen eventually took the lead of the race on Lap 4, before opening a strong 30-second advantage over the field.
Devastatingly, once the four-time F1 champion got back behind the wheel of the Mercedes for his second stint in the car, the front splitter on the car broke, sending the team into the garage for repairs. Lucas Auer eventually re-joined the race on behalf of the team, but after almost half an hour in the pit lane, the damage was done. Auer eventually drove across the line in 38th place.
In May, between the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix, Verstappen made his debut at the iconic 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Despite strong pace that saw the Dutchman and the No.3 Verstappen-led Mercedes team lead the race, it wasn’t meant to be. With just a few hours remaining on the clock, the team suffered a driveshaft failure, pulling into the pits for repairs.
Despite impressive pace, Verstappen has frequently suffered from strategy blunders and technical issues, something that the Dutchman was also experiencing in his Formula One career earlier this year with Red Bull Racing.
On the 1st October 2026, Verstappen announced that he would step in at the GTWC Endurance Cup in Portimão for his own team. The Verstappen Racing 2Seas Mercedes squad needed two drivers following a scheduling clash between the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and GTWC for their main drivers, Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon.
The WEC was forced to create a revised 2026 calendar following the conflict in the Middle East, and announced that the races in Qatar and Bahrain would be replaced with races in Barcelona and Monza.
However, the improvised calendar from the WEC resulted in a scheduling clash between the WEC’s Barcelona round and the final round of the GTWC in Portimão, forcing some drivers to choose between one or the other.
Juncadella and Gounon’s commitments in the WEC ruled out a GTWC appearance, leaving two seats open for the No.3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes team. Despite a hectic F1 schedule that sees him flying out to Malaysia, Singapore and the Americas across October and early November, Verstappen will return to GT racing after a triple header of F1 races.
Valentino Rossi’s GT racing Journey
In August 2021, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi announced his retirement from the sport. The Doctor’s 26-year-long career at the top of motorcycle racing saw him become a nine-time world champion, claiming 115 Grand Prix victories and over 240 podiums.
Later that year, just weeks after the final MotoGP race of the season, Rossi tested an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia with Team WRT, a Belgian squad with numerous GT championships to their name.
In January 2022, Rossi announced his decision to enter the GT World Challenge Europe with Team WRT for a full championship campaign. Fittingly, the Doctor’s first race was in Italy at the Imola circuit. The MotoGP legend showed decent pace for a rookie in their first race, but unfortunately made a critical error during the pit stop window, entering the pit lane and missing his pit box.
The crucial mistake cost the No.46 Team WRT Audi squad a lot of time, with Rossi and teammates Frederic Vervisch and Nico Muller finishing in 17th place. In a season littered with mistakes and early teething issues, Rossi learned a lot over the course of the season, showing impressive overtakes sporadically through the year.
The Doctor’s best result in 2022 was fifth place, at both the Misano Sprint Cup and the Paul Ricard Endurance Cup rounds. At the end of 2022, WRT ended its long partnership with Audi, after the German manufacturer opted to focus on its Formula One project.
Rossi’s 2023 season started in January, with the Dubai 24 Hours. The Doctor raced alongside Maxime Martin, Sean Gelael and Tim Whale, with the No.46 WRT BMW squad achieving a decent third-place result.
This marked Rossi’s first podium finish in his full-time GT racing career, as the Italian had achieved a podium at the 2019 Gulf 12 Hours with Kessel Racing.
The Italian raced in the GTWC Europe that year, whilst also attending several MotoGP races to support the VR46 team and academy. At Brands Hatch, Rossi achieved his first podium in the GTWC Europe, taking over from Maxime Martin at the halfway mark and holding onto second place.
Rossi climbed up on top of his No.46 BMW and celebrated with everyone in parc ferme, with the result proving to be popular with the fans around the track. However, The Doctor’s breakthrough in GT racing occurred at the Misano Sprint Cup round later that year.
The Italian, on home soil, won his first race in the GTWC Europe at Misano, with Rossi setting lap times legitimately as fast as his experienced teammate, Martin, and out-pacing the rest of the field.
The result was particularly emotional for the Italian, with the circuit named after his close friend Marco Simoncelli, who died in Malaysia back in 2011 whilst racing in MotoGP. Later that year, The Doctor would take yet another podium at the Zandvoort Sprint Cup round, with a strong third-place finish despite adverse weather conditions.
In December 2023, Rossi returned to the Gulf 12 Hours, seeking victory after his podium finish in 2019. Despite a hard-fought race, the Italian ended up finishing in second position, narrowly missing out on the victory. However, fighting for the victory at an event he had previously competed in whilst simultaneously racing in MotoGP offered a stark contrast in his racing ability, with Rossi’s speed and racecraft improving greatly.
In November 2023, it was announced that Rossi would enter the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in the LMGT3 class with Team WRT and BMW in 2024, allowing for The Doctor to make his debut at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Alongside his efforts in the WEC, Rossi also opted to compete in the GTWC Europe’s Endurance Cup rounds, with one-off appearances in the Brands Hatch and Misano Sprint Cup rounds, and an appearance at the Bathurst 12 Hour early in the year, placing fifth down under.
Competing in just his second WEC race at Imola, Rossi finished on the podium with teammates Martin and bronze driver Ahmad Al-Harthy after the squad finished in second place. The trio took another podium later that year in Fuji after Rossi fought back valiantly through the field.
However, at the WEC’s flagship event of the season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Italian suffered a bitter retirement. After qualifying in 12th place, Rossi and Martin stormed through the field, and at one point, before half race distance, Rossi led the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMGT3 class.
As rain began to intensify, Rossi handed the car over to Al-Harthy, who proceeded to spin out in the difficult conditions and crash hard into the barriers, ending the race for the No.46 WRT BMW squad.
Throughout 2024, across both the WEC and GTWC Europe, Rossi was able to showcase impressive racecraft, as his overall pace began to improve as well. The Italian took another victory at Misano in the GTWC Europe, making it two wins across two seasons on home soil.
Rossi’s 2025 season began impressively, with the Italian building on a strong year prior. The Doctor achieved a podium finish at the Bathurst 12 Hour, finishing in second place alongside experienced teammates, Charles Weerts and Raffaele Marciello.
Just a couple of months later, at the second race of the WEC season in Imola, Rossi qualified on pole position. The No.46 WRT BMW squad finished in second place once again; however, the MotoGP legend collided with a Ferrari LMGT3 and was given a penalty for the incident. Had Rossi not hit the Ferrari off the road, he may have won a WEC race on home soil.
The Doctor then returned to Misano and won once again, this time alongside Marciello, proving that he could win GT races with different teammates. The duo then achieved another podium finish in the second sprint race at Misano later that evening.
Rossi’s return to Le Mans proved equally as crushing as the year prior. The Italian qualified a strong third, and even went on to lead the race, before an electrical problem caused the No.46 WRT squad to retire from the race for a second time.
Later that year, the Italian picked up another podium in the WEC at the Circuit of the Americas, and won the Indianapolis 8-Hour event in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, before it was then revealed that Rossi had been left out of the 2026 WEC driver line-ups for BMW and WRT.
The reason behind the Italian’s departure from the WEC came down to his highly demanding racing schedule, competing in both the WEC and GTWC Europe as well as other one-off events throughout both 2024 and 2025.
In 2026, Rossi returned to the GTWC Europe full-time, and has been somewhat competitive alongside his younger teammates, Dan Harper and Max Hesse. The No.46 BMW squad’s best result so far was a 4th place in Misano, with the BMW car overall suffering from the Balance of Performance (BoP) rules this year.
Both Verstappen and Rossi come in with plenty of experience and time in GT3 machinery, and the pair of them have also experienced their fair share of success and heartbreak in GT racing.
Billed as the headline for the race weekend, the two motorsport titans are set to compete against one another for the very first time later this week in Portimão, with the three-hour race scheduled to commence on Saturday at 17:00 WEST (17:00 BST).
Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
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