Valentino Rossi registers best result since swapping bikes for cars

Valentino Rossi led his WRT team to an impressive fifth-placed finish in the GT World Challenge Europe six-hour endurance race on Saturday night.
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi

The MotoGP icon secured the best result so far since he swapped bikes for cars at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France on Saturday night, his fourth race of his new adventure.

Rossi’s race highlight was an opportunistic undertake of the #50 BMW which slid him into P11.

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Rossi's progress was hampered when he forced into consecutive pitstops.

He had started the race in the Team WRT Audi before handing over to teammates Fred Vervisch and Nico Muller after a double stint behind the wheel.

Rossi’s time in the Audi took his team to P10 and they further improved to P5 for a respectable showing.

“It was difficult,” Rossi said. “First of all, because to do a double stint is very long. It is difficult on the neck.

Valentino Rossi / Frédéric Vervisch - Team WRT Audi R8 LMS evo II
Valentino Rossi / Frédéric Vervisch - Team WRT Audi R8 LMS evo II

“I was in P7 with the top guys. But the top guys are a little bit faster than me.

“I try, I try, I try.

“In the second half of the first inter, I started to struggle with the tyres a little bit.”

Ferrari's Davide Rigon, Antonio Fuoco and Daniel Serra won the race on Saturday.

The next date on the GT World Challenge Europe calendar is 17-19 June at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.

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