Valentino Rossi : "A good preparation for Spa 24H"

The GT World Challenge Europe meeting at Paul Ricard marks Valentino Rossi's fourth appearance in the championship. The six-hour round will serve as a preparation for the 24 Hours of Spa for the biker who has not been back here in competition since a long time.

"It's been more than 20 years since I've ridden here," said Valentino Rossi after the free practice session. "The track has changed a lot and I have to admit that it is quite complicated because it is a circuit designed for the car without any gravel trap. So you have to use all the asphalt available. During the pre-season tests, I had suffered but today my feeling is much better. I am comfortable in the first part but the second part, which includes the Signes corner, is not easy. I worked a lot on the simulator." 

The Italian is lucky enough to share a seat with Frédéric Vervisch and Nico Müller in the #46 Audi R8 LMS GT3/WRT, two very experienced drivers.

"Having 1.5 hours of testing is good on paper," explains the WRT driver. "However, we are three drivers, there are a lot of cars on track and red flags. I am lucky to have two very strong teammates. Fred is coming off a victory at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring and Nico won recently in the DTM. We still have to discuss the strategy to adopt in the race but what is certain is that it is a good training for Spa." 

While the Rossi/Vervisch pairing gained some good points at Brands Hatch, the Magny-Cours meeting was more complicated with a 15th and an 11th place. "Magny-Cours was harder than Brands Hatch," said Rossi. "The circuit is hard, you have to jump quite hard on the vibrators. Also, the sun was very low because we were driving in the early evening. So we had to change the visor on the helmet so that it wouldn't be in the way. For me, the fast corners are not easy because I have to try not to cut the speed too much." 

In moving from two to four wheels, Valentino Rossi is also getting to know the limits of the track and as a biker he is discovering a whole new concept: "In MotoGP, 1 cm outside and you are penalised. Here it's quite variable because after three laps you don't know what to do or not to do (laughs). Are we penalised? Not penalised? I still have to understand how it works. The professional drivers know how to handle it but on my side I still have to improve."