Rossi: Imola Podium “Important” to Claw Back LMGT3 Points Gap

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Valentino Rossi believes a repeat of last year’s podium finish at the FIA World Endurance Championship round at Imola is a “very important” target as Team WRT’s No. 46 crew seeks to regain ground in the LMGT3 standings after a pointless season opener.

Rossi, Ahmad Al Harthy and Kelvin van der Linde finished 11th in the Qatar 1812km, scoring no points and thus arriving at Imola with a 38-point deficit to the leading No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

However, Imola last year proved to be the site of a breakthrough result for BMW in the LMGT3 ranks, with Rossi finishing second as Darren Leung, Sean Gelael and Augusto Farfus fronted a 1-2 finish for Team WRT.

Rossi explained ahead of his sophomore WEC appearance at Imola that a repeat of last year’s result is a significant target to pursue in order to recover some of the lost ground in the standings and properly establish the No. 46 BMW as a title contender.

“It’s very important, because last year the start was better in Qatar because we finished fourth,” said Rossi.

“This year we suffered a bit more, so it’s very important, also because we are in Italy.

“Last year the car was competitive and it looks like the situation is very similar this year. So it’s very important if we can fight for the podium.

“Last year was good. We did some good races, especially here was the best result. We did another podium in Japan and also in Le Mans we were quite competitive.

“It depends very much on the track because sometimes we are better, sometimes we suffer a bit more.

“For example, in the full wet, usually it’s a bit difficult, so this can be an option to improve but we hope that we can be as fast last year.

“Here, we have to understand the conditions because the forecast is not fantastic but we try to fight for the podium also this year.

When asked about his personal targets for improvement, Rossi pointed to single-lap qualifying pace, especially considering the revised LMGT3 qualifying format that will now see Silver drivers battle for Hyperpole.

Rossi previously outlined to Sportscar365 that he has set his sights on a maiden pole position as part of this new format, describing it as “a target.”

“This year is interesting, because the second qualifying if you are in the top ten is for the silver,” he said.

“So this is the area where I have to work to try to do the best lap with new tires.”

Rossi has scaled back his GT3 schedule for his third year with BMW, largely exiting GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS with the exception of a Sprint Cup cameo at Misano and an expected return to the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in June.

Instead, the eight-race WEC calendar will form the bulk of the Italian’s commitments, with Rossi himself describing the choice between the two series as “a difficult decision.”

“At the end, BMW preferred to [choose] this championship,” he said.

“Especially because it’s a world championship and they have Le Mans and everything. But for me it’s okay, it’s a good championship, I like it a lot.

“We race in very good tracks around the world. So it’s a big effort because I have a lot of races out of Europe.

“It’s a little bit more difficult to organize but you have Le Mans and everything so for this reason.”