Valentino Rossi is one race away from concluding his debut year in the World Endurance Championship.
The legendary Italian racer is best known for his achievements on two wheels rather than four, winning MotoGP seven times between 2001-2005 and 2008-2009.
During that time, Rossi has dabbled in racing cars, competing in the likes of DTM, the WRC and GT racing.
For the 2024 season, the 46-year-old BMW factory driver moved over the German manufacturer’s Team WRT outfit in the LMGT3 class of the WEC, as well as competing in the GT World Championship Europe Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup.
But speaking with Autosport, Rossi is set to reconsider his future as he plans to cut down his racing in 2025.
Valentino Rossi’s partner is ‘angry’ with the amount of time he is spending on the track
Heading into the final round of the GTWCE in Jeddah, Rossi and his No. 46 WRT teammates Raffaele Marciello and Maxime Martin are 10th in the overall standings with a best finish of fourth at the season opener at Paul Ricard.
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In the WEC, the BMW M4 GT3 is fifth in the drivers’ standings with the Eight Hours of Bahrain set to conclude the season in November as WRT have secured four podiums between their two cars.
But due to family reasons, Rossi is set to choose only one of the championships to compete in next season, revealing that he is ‘tired’ and wants to see more time with his partner.
Speaking about his future, Rossi said: “I realised that 16 races is too many and I am in the same situation as in MotoGP.
“I’m tired and my partner, Francesca, gets angry because I am always on the road.
“For 2025 my goal is to run 10 to 11 races: I will have to decide whether to do GTWCE or WEC.
“One is a world championship, so winning the title has special prestige, but in the Stephane Ratel Organisation races [GTWCE] the racing is really good with only GT3 cars.”
Valentino Rossi has secured two podiums in the WEC so far in 2024
Rossi’s debut WEC season got off to a solid start with fourth at the season opener in Qatar, followed by his first podium in the category with second in Imola in what was a WRT one-two finish in the LMGT3 class.
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However, the No. 46 retired from the Six Hours of Spa – as did the other M4 GT3 machine – and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Fifth place at Sao Paulo was followed by the car not being classified at the next race in Austin.
Rossi put in a standout performance last time out in Fuji as the No. 46 secured its second podium of the year with third. The Italian and his teammate Martin and Ahamd Al Harthy sit fifth with 61 points.
The second M4 GT3, piloted by Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung, could finish the season in second in the LMGT3 class as they sit five points behind the Porsche Manthey EMA team heading into Bahrain.