Valentino Rossi – GT World Challenge Europe: Who is BMW’s new Italian driver?

Last Friday, Italian Valentino Rossi confided that he would be a BMW M Motorsport rider next year within the BMW M Team WRT.

Valentino Rossi is a motorsport legend. He has won the World Championship in the Moto GP class no less than 7 times and is also the first rider to have won two consecutive titles for two different manufacturers (in 2003 with Honda and in 2004 with Yamaha). The Italian has 89 Moto GP victories and 199 podiums.

“Valentino Rossi needs no introduction,” says BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Ross. “He has made history as one of the most successful riders in motorbike history. His success on the track and his personality make him a living legend, and rightly so. But Valentino proved that he was also an excellent rider on four wheels. He has shown that motor racing has become his second home, and he is putting all his passion, talent and commitment into this new chapter of his career.”

During his MotoGP career the rider has been offered four BMWs, a privilege given to the rider achieving the most pole positions each season. In 2023 he will become an official BMW rider. His extension in GT World Challenge Europe had already been announced and his team, WRT, decided to leave Audi to join BMW. The car manufacturer subsequently offered him a place in its official driver programme. He accepted the offer. A future participation in the Bathurst 12 Hours is already planned.

“I’m very proud to become an official BMW M rider and it’s a great opportunity,” confided Valentino Rossi before adding, “Last year I started racing seriously in the car and I finished my first season with the WRT team with whom I got along very well and I’m very happy that the WRT team chose BMW M Motorsport as their new partner.”

Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.