Valentino Rossi will make a full-time return to GT World Challenge Europe in 2026 with Team WRT BMW in both Sprint and Endurance Cup.
Valentino Rossi will make a full return to GT World in 2026 as part of a refreshed line-up aboard the #46 Team WRT BMW. Rossi ran partial schedules in 2024 and 2025, earning a brace of victories at his home circuit of Misano and adding a further two participations at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
This year, the Italian ace will share the #46 Team WRT entry with a pair of fellow BMW factory drivers: Max Hesse and Dan Harper. Though still only 24 and 25 respectively, both are proven race winners in GT World and highly respected on the international scene.
Hesse will partner Rossi for the Sprint Cup, which plays out over five events at Brands Hatch, Misano, Magny-Cours, Zandvoort and Barcelona. In the Endurance Cup, they will be joined by Harper for the events at Circuit Paul Ricard, Monza, the Nürburgring and Portimão, as well as the marque CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Among his further plans this term, Rossi is also set to contest next month’s Intercontinental GT Challenge opener – the Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour – with Team WRT. The 2026 GT World season gets underway at Circuit Paul Ricard on the weekend of 11/12 April, preceded by the official Prologue on 8/9 April. The opening Sprint Cup contest will take place at Brands Hatch on 2/3 May.
Here: https://x.com/followWRT/status/2013627719498510808?s=20
[The story is as per press release]