Nine-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi will test a BMW LMDh prototype around Bahrain at the World Endurance Championship rookie test.
Rossi will be behind the wheel of the BMW M Hybrid V8 on the 3rd of November, the day after the conclusion of the 2024 WEC season.
The Italian's new venture in WEC and GT Racing started in 2022 following his retirement from MotoGP in 2021.
Rossi participated in the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe series with WRT and Audi, before WRT switching to BMW from 2023.
BMW confirmed its intentions to provide the MotoGP legend with a test in its prototype car at the start of 2023.
WRT and Rossi secured its first win together in the GT World Challenge Europe at one of Rossi's favorite tracks from his two-wheeled days at Misano.
Rossi's immediate success saw the partnership strengthen as the Italian signed for a LMGT3 class seat for the 2024 WEC season, which complimented his duties in the GTWCE.
The #46 car consisting of Rossi, Maxime Martin and Ahmad Al Harthy secured two podium-place finishes in Imola and Fuji, with the final round in Bahrain arriving in November.
Rossi himself disclosed to Autosport last weekend of this opportunity ahead of the weekend's GTWCE race.
“At the rookie test I’m going to try the BMW LMDh and I’m very, very happy because last year I got to drive the LMP2,” Rossi said.
“So, the next goal is to see what the M Hybrid V8 is like.
“And then, who knows, maybe in the future there will be a place in Hypercar. Let’s see.”
BMW motorsport boss speaks out
BMW motorsport boss Andreas Roos previously indicated at the most recent WEC race in Fuji that Rossi potentially could be involved in testing one of its Hypercars.
He said: “It will be a surprise, maybe! We will see. He definitely will get the test this year.
“We said from the beginning that Valentino will be in the car and we clearly said at the beginning that it will not be at the beginning of the season, because then we have more than enough to do to get our things sorted, and the focus was clearly there to get everything prepared.
“But he will be in the car this year.”
Rossi's hypercar ambitions post 2024
It remains to be seen whether the Bavarian giant will take action to promote Rossi to its Hypercar programme.
The 45-year-old's adaptation to LMGT3 racing took no time at all, but a Hypercar is a whole new kettle of fish. Rossi previously tested an Oreca 07 LMP2 car before securing the BMW M4 GT3 seat.
Earlier in the year he said: “I want to try the Hypercar, I push a lot on BMW and maybe [if] Andreas this year promises that at the end of the season I can try the Hypercar, then I’m very curious.
“Last year I tried an LMP2 to understand a prototype and it’s great because, under one point of view, it’s more similar to a motorcycle than a GT car because the lines are very similar. You stay always on the track, the grip is a lot.”
These comments were stated prior to his debut WEC season commencing, with the seven-time MotoGP champion providing a frank assessment on the similarities between motorbikes and GT cars.
Rossi believes he has ten years left of racing at the pinnacle left before considering any thought of retirement. His frank assessment at Qatar showed there is still work to be done despite setting his sights on earning a seat in BMW's Hypercar programme.
“I mean, yes [I want to drive one], but it’s not my target. I don’t know if I will be fast enough for Hypercar because they are Platinum [graded] drivers.”
“This is already my third season in cars and it’s difficult because the level in the GT races is so high—you have a lot of great drivers that can bring the car to the limit.
“For me at the beginning, it was difficult. But I try to improve, and I’m very happy because I did a good step from the first season to the second and also from the second to the third. I have to work because I’m not so bad, I’m quite fast, but I still miss something compared to the top guys.
“The target is try to arrive at the same level – I’m not very far [off].
“The Hypercars are more than 10 seconds a-lap faster, so at least one or two of them overtake you every lap – so you have to pay attention and understand where to stay [on your line] and where to let them pass.”
“When you drive the car, the feeling that you have with the tyre and the way that you speak with the engineer is the same – more or less like the bike,” he explains.
“For sure, the races are very different – MotoGP is 40 minutes flat-out. With these longer races we need to save the tyre, you have a lot of strategy and also you need to work a lot in the pits, with the driver change, sharing your car.”
The 45-year-old is willing to keep both WEC and IMSA Hypercar seats as options heading in 2025. Considering his collaborative efforts in securing two podiums for BMW in his inaugural WEC season thus far, Rossi is one to look out for in the rookie test.
