ROSSI WELCOMES GT3 SHOWDOWN WITH VERSTAPPEN, BUT EXPECTS A TOUGH CHALLENGE

Valentino Rossi is looking forward to sharing a GT World Challenge Europe grid with Max Verstappen for the first time, while recognising the Formula 1 champion could be a formidable rival at the season finale in Portimão.

Verstappen will make his GT World Challenge Europe debut in a Mercedes-AMG GT3, racing under the Verstappen Racing banner alongside Chris Lulham and Ben Barnicoat. It will be his first GT3 outing since the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Rossi, a nine-time motorcycle grand prix champion, will race a BMW for Team WRT.

The three-hour Endurance Cup race at Portugal’s Algarve International Circuit will feature a 61-car grid. “It’s going to be amazing,” Rossi told Sky Sport Italy. “It will be a big problem because he’s sure to be incredibly fast, but it will be fantastic.” The Italian said he had never expected to race against Verstappen and hoped for the chance to watch him on track: “It’s great, it’ll be great for everyone to have him there, and I hope I get the chance to follow him and see how he drives.”

Verstappen, meanwhile, said he hoped to meet Rossi away from the action. “He’s a very cool guy, so I hope to catch up with him,” he said. “I mean, it’s nice, but I do not hope to see him in the race, so that’s normally a good sign.” He added that he hoped to be at the front, while acknowledging the strength of the field: “The grid is super competitive.”

The Dutchman will arrive after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia and the Singapore Grand Prix. His GT appearance also falls on his only free weekend between two F1 triple-headers, making it part of a run of seven consecutive racing weekends.

Despite the schedule, Verstappen said he was eager for the challenge. He described GT racing as “very different to Formula 1” but said he loved it, having already sampled the category at the Nordschleife earlier in the year. Portimão, he added, is “a very cool track to drive”.

“I’m just going to enjoy it and, of course, as a team, we’ll try to do the best we can to get a good result out of it,” he said.

The event runs from 16–18 October. Friday features two practice sessions and qualifying, with the three-hour race scheduled for Saturday from 5pm to 8pm UK time. The race will be streamed free in multiple languages on the GTWorld YouTube channel.