Rossi's post-MotoGP car racing career won't be "just for fun"
Valentino Rossi has suggested his post-MotoGP car racing career won’t be just for enjoyment, noting that “you never race just for fun” if you are a “real rider or driver”.
After 26 seasons in grand prix motorcycle racing, MotoGP legend Rossi will retire at the end of the 2021 campaign – something he announced last Thursday ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix.
The nine-time grand prix world champion has previously expressed a desire to race GT3 cars at the conclusion of his MotoGP career, having taken podiums in Gulf 12 Hour events in a Ferrari 488 GT3 in 2019 and 2021.
PLUS: Why Rossi hasn't overstayed his welcome in MotoGP
Rossi has also made no secret of his ambitions to race at the Le Mans 24 Hours in the future.
When asked by Autosport if he had any aims at this stage for his post-MotoGP car racing career, Rossi said: “Yes, I always love to race with cars, because I started with a go-kart because Graziano [his father] was afraid of motorcycle racing because he had a lot of injuries and he thought cars were a bit more safe.
“So, I started with a go-kart and, after two or three years with a go-kart, I tried a mini bike, and after fortunately I raced with motorcycles because I don’t know if with cars I could have achieved the same results, maybe not, so it was a good choice.
“But anyway, it remained in my heart.
“During this career with motorcycles, I always tried to improve my skill with cars, to race always, to make some kilometres to be ready at this moment.
“But I don’t know, I don’t know my level, I mean it’s not the same as motorcycles, but you never race just for fun – if you are a real rider or driver, you race to be strong and to win and to try and have a good result.
“But sincerely at the moment I don’t know which cars, I don’t know which races.
“I said that I wanted to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and have a lot of car racing around the world so I think that I can enjoy.”
Valentino Rossi, Kessel Racing Ferrari 488 GT3
Photo by: Valentino Rossi
As well as the Gulf 12 Hours events, Rossi also contested three World Rally Championship events in 2002, 2006, 2008, taking a best result of 11th on Rally New Zealand in 2006 in a Subaru Impreza WRC04.
Rossi famously tested Ferrari Formula 1 cars on numerous occasions during the 2000s and seriously considered making a switch in 2007 before ultimately remaining in MotoGP with Yamaha.
He last drove an F1 car in 2019 at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in Spain, taking the wheel of Lewis Hamilton’s 2017 title-winning Mercedes as part of a ride swap, which also involved the latter experiencing MotoGP machinery for the first time aboard a Yamaha.
Related video
Marc Marquez is back
MotoGP Starting Grid: Portugal Grand Prix
MotoGP Starting Grid: Doha Grand Prix
Marc Márquez's first ride after his injury
Marc Marquez continues his recovery
The rider dilemma facing Petronas SRT for MotoGP 2022
The final pieces of the 2022 rider market have yet to be finalised as Petronas SRT faces several obstacles in replacing the retiring Valentino Rossi and Yamaha factory-bound Franco Morbidelli. SRT’s preferred option has been locked into a KTM deal he doesn’t want, while it’s other target is managed by Rossi himself and wanted at his VR46 team
The irony and vindication behind a rookie’s maiden MotoGP victory
Determined not to let his first season in MotoGP be defined by injury, Jorge Martin set his sights on a strong return from the summer break at the Red Bull Ring and delivered in fine fashion. But it could all have been different for the Pramac rider had he not landed on a bike that he feels ideally suited to, a situation only too easy to envisage
Why Rossi hasn’t overstayed his welcome in MotoGP
OPINION: After 22 years in the top flight of grand prix motorbike racing, Valentino Rossi has announced his MotoGP retirement. Having been the championship's main draw for the past two decades, Rossi's declining performances and the birth of his new VR46 team means he hangs up his leathers at the right time
Why Suzuki desperately needs to find Brivio's MotoGP replacement
OPINION: While Shinichi Sahara insists that Suzuki does not need a team manager following the departure of Davide Brivio, the team's performance in the early part of the 2021 MotoGP season and the sentiment of the staff suggests the opposite
How KTM has ended up with an embarrassment of MotoGP riches
Forming a ladder all the way from Red Bull Rookies Cup to MotoGP, KTM has created a steady stream of top talents in grand prix racing delivering the Austrian marque with the success expected of the brand. Here's how it has gone about it
Why MotoGP will miss its gentle giant
Danilo Petrucci’s days in MotoGP appear numbered, as KTM looks to completely reshuffle the Tech3 team for 2022. Though the Italian's 2021 season so far hasn’t been standout, the giant Italian covertly became a top runner in MotoGP across the last decade and brought with him a personality that world sport sorely needs more of
Why Mir's MotoGP title defence can’t be written off yet
Joan Mir’s defence of his MotoGP title has had an underwhelming start as Suzuki didn’t progress its championship-winning GSX-RR as much as its rivals did with their bikes over the winter. Speaking to Autosport, Mir lays out why his title defence has been stalled so far and why he’s confident title number two is still within reach
The Rossi replacement who’s become the MotoGP leader Yamaha needed
It's been six years since Jorge Lorenzo gave Yamaha its last MotoGP title in 2015. Since his departure at the end of 2016, Yamaha's form has been inconsistent but it has at last found a new talisman to return it to the top spot in the form of a precociously talented Frenchman who currently leads the standings
