The iconic pilot of the MotoGP Valentino Rossi makes us live his dream of participating in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans event on four wheels through his Instagram account, and this Sunday, June 9, the serious things began…
After Friday devoted mainly to the weighing on the Place de la République in the Sarthe prefecture of the #4 BMW M46 entered in the LM GT3 category by the Belgian WRT team, the nine-time world champion experienced a Saturday focused on two briefings, including the one dedicated to rookies.
Indeed, the “Doctor” is taking part in the legendary event for the first time, even though he had already won the “Road to Le Mans” there in June 2023, also in a Team WRT BMW M4 GT3. In the FIA hierarchy of drivers, the Italian is classified Silver, while he is associated with his usual Belgian teammate Max Martin (Platinum) and Ahmad Al Harty (Bronze), originally from Oman. This diversity of results is a mandatory condition for participating in LMGT3, a category open to manufacturers producing more than 2500 cars per year.
On Sunday, the program included two free practice sessions, from 10:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m., then from 15:30 p.m. to 18:30 p.m. Novice drivers like Valentino Rossi had to complete the ten mandatory laps, five of which were timed, as required by the regulations.
During the first session, the BMW M4 GT3 wearing his emblematic number 46 appeared in 45th position in the general classification, after Max Martin achieved the 113th time (4'01.329), Valentino Rossi the 125th (4'02.372) and Ahmad Al Harty the 140th (4'03.239). This first performance, however, placed the BMW in 6th position in a category then dominated by the two Lexuses from the Akkodis ASP Team, coming close to the symbolic 4-minute mark.
In the afternoon, the times improved, starting with the three cars which finished in 3'59, but also for the #46 which saw Max Martin achieve the 109th time (4'00.418), Valentino Rossi the 115th (4'00.622) and Ahmad Al Harty 108th (4'00.417), placing the BMW in 8th position in its category and 48th overall.
This Monday, the pilots will be able to rest after this trying day...
The 24-hour race will start on Saturday June 15 at 16 p.m.
Photo credit: VR46
