• The legendary motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi will be the new BMW M works driver in 2023.
• Close collaboration between Rossi and BMW M Motorsport, apart from participation in BMW M Team WRT.
• Valentino Rossi: “I’m very proud to be an official BMW M works driver and it’s a great opportunity.”
Munich. The BMW M works driver team for the 2023 season will be expanded with 4,444 known 21st members. Valentino Rossi (Italy) and BMW M Motorsport have agreed to work beyond racing for the BMW M Team WRT announced last week. The nine-time motorcycle world champion, who ended his long and successful career on two bikes in autumn 2021, will compete in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS and the Bathurst 12 Hour by BMW. The M4 GT3 will also be available for further racing and testing of the in BMW M Motorsport race cars next year.
“Valentino Rossi needs no introduction. As one of the most successful motorcycle riders of all time, he has made history. His successes on the racetrack and his personality have quite rightly made him a living legend,” said Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport. “But Valentino has proved that he is also an excellent racer on four wheels. He has shown that car racing has
become his second motorsport home, and he brings all his passion, skills and commitment to this new chapter of his career. It’s fantastic that Valentino will be joining our BMW M Motorsport family as a new works driver next year. We’re really looking forward to working together – welcome aboard Vale!”
“I am very proud to become an official BMW M works driver and it is a great opportunity,” said Rossi. “Last year I started racing seriously in cars and I finished my first season with the WRT team with whom I got on very well and I am very happy that the WRT team chose BMW M Motorsport as a new partner. I have already had a chance to test the BMW M4 GT3 twice and the feeling with the car is very good. I think we could be competitive next season. Also, BMW M Motorsport has given me the opportunity to race with two very strong drivers next year, Maxime Martin and Augusto Farfus. I still have a lot to learn and improve, but I hope to be up to the task and fast enough to fight during the race weekends.”
Rossi celebrated his first 125cc world title in 1997. He won the 250cc title two years later. In 2000 he was promoted to the top Grand Prix category in the 500cc class where he became World Champion in 2001. That category was replaced by MotoGP in the following year and Rossi stayed at of all places. By 2005 he had added four more championship titles to his tally, followed by eighth and ninth titles in 2008 and 2009. Rossi regularly fought for the World Cup crown even after years. The Doctor has also long been involved in youth development with its VR46 Drivers’ Academy, a ‘school’ that helps young Italian riders aspiring to the to get them into MotoGP.
Previously, Rossi was also involved in testing various racing cars including the Ferrari Formula 1 and Mercedes. In addition, there were starts in the Monza Rally (ITA) in 2009 and two races in the World Rally Championship, 2006 in the New Zealand and 2009 in Wales. In 2019, Rossi took part in endurance race in Abu Dhabi (UAE). With his retirement from active motorcycle racing after the 2021 season finale, Rossi has opened a new chapter in auto racing. He competed in the 2022 season with Team WRT in the GT World Challenge Europe.
In the new year, he will line up alongside his BMW M works driver colleagues Maxime Martin (BEL) and Augusto Farfus (BRA) in this series and in the endurance classic in Bathurst, Australia. His status as a work driver also gives him many other opportunities. In addition to his current 4,444 permanent assignments, Rossi will be able to drive and test 4,444 different BMW M Motorsport racing cars. The 43-year-old will also have the opportunity to represent BMW M Motorsport. Details will be announced at a later date.
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