Max Verstappen to race against Valentino Rossi in GT World Challenge finale
Max Verstappen will make his GT World Challenge debut this month
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen will race against MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi this month as he makes his debut in the GT World Challenge Europe.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has upped his involvement in GT racing this year, following his debut at the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
The Dutchman’s Team Verstappen outfit already competes in the GT World Challenge with Mercedes machinery.
And ahead of this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, he has confirmed he will take part in the Portimao finale of the GTWCE on 16-18 October.
It means the four-time F1 world champion will share a track with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who competes for Team WRT BMW.
Why is Max Verstappen racing in the GTWCE?
The GTWCE finale clashes with the rescheduled penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, taking place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
WEC was meant to finish the season in the Middle East, but had to scrap this due to the ongoing war in Iran.
Two Team Verstappen drivers, Jules Gounon and Dani Juncadella - who the Dutchman raced with at the Nurburgring 24 - will race in the WEC that weekend instead of GTWCE due to their Hypercar commitments.
Gounon is an Alpine driver in the WEC, while Juncadella is part of the Genesis Magma Racing line-up.
As such, Verstappen has elected to jump into the No.3 Mercedes.
“Well, I know that two of my drivers won't be part of the line-up, so two other drivers need to step in, and I'm looking forward to it,” Verstappen said on Thursday, confirming his GTWCE debut.
“It’s going to be a busy seven weeks, but I enjoy it anyway, so yeah, let's see what we can do there.”
Verstappen was also asked about comments Fernando Alonso made regarding his GT racing exploits, in which he said surprises are coming, though he insists they won’t be competing together.
“No, no, no, he's not driving with me!
“I don't know what he means with that, but no, from my side, it's all clear, we know what we want to do.
“Of course, I would have loved to see my normal drivers compete, but the calendar has changed at times, and that's okay.
“I mean, I love Portimao, I love being in Portugal, so we'll try and have a good weekend.”
Verstappen has two F1 podiums to his credit at Portimao.
