Tomorrow Valentino Rossi, nine-time circuit racing world champion, will start a new chapter in his long career: for the first time, he will start the 3-hour endurance race in Imola. This is the first round of the GT World Challenge Europe.
But today he already took part in pre-qualifying and the crew of the WRT team’s Audi R8 LMS GT3, which performed at number 46, showed the 15th fastest time among 52 cars.
“In the winter I worked on tests behind the wheel of this car for a long time,” said 43-year-old Valentino. “But driving on a track with so many cars and all drivers at the same level is really difficult.
My lap times are not too bad, I am not that far behind my teammates (his crew also consists of experienced endurance racer Nico Müller and Audi factory driver Frederik Wörwisches) and I have to say that the most important thing for me right now is to find out what level I am compared to others.
In the last part of the circle I am doing well and with such turns in the second sector, like Piratella and Acqua Minerale, I am also doing better. In general, I will do my best to fight for high positions and have fun. I love the track in Imola, it’s a great old fashioned track.
But my dream remains Le Mans, and I would like to start this marathon in the coming years. I won’t say this is an absolute priority for me, but I want to gradually improve my racing skills to be able to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
But this season I just want to see what I can do and I’m already looking forward to the 24-hour race at Spa at the end of July.”
Source: F1 News
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