Valentino Rossi secured his place in Indianapolis Motor Speedway lore by winning the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP race in September 2008, one of the 89 victories in the premier class during his legendary motorcycle racing career.
Now it’s time for seven-time MotoGP World Champion Rossi to take on IMS on four wheels.
After starting in all eight MotoGP events at IMS from 2008-15, Rossi will compete in a car at the Racing Capital of the World for the first time in the Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS on Oct. 16-18 on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course, driving one of BMW and WRT’s two factory-supported entries. He will share the No. 46 BMW with Charles Weerts, part of the BMW team that won this event last year, and Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) drivers’ championship leader Kelvin van der Linde.
Rossi is an established member of BMW’s factory GT3 roster but has yet to contest an IGTC race on American soil, with his previous appearances coming at Spa, Bathurst and the Gulf 12 Hours. He has a best IGTC finish of second overall, which he achieved earlier this year in the Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia and in 2023 at Abu Dhabi.
WRT’s entries likely will lead BMW’s quest for a first IGTC manufacturers’ crown at Indy.
The Intercontinental GT Challenge and Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS will share the road course for the premier event of the weekend, an eight-hour endurance sports car race for GT sports cars starting at 12:15 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 17 and finishing with headlights on in dusk – a unique sight at IMS – at 8:15 p.m. This round is the season finale for both series.
These GT sports cars from prestigious manufacturers such as Acura, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, which resemble their road-going counterparts, will compete in the longest race of the year at the Racing Capital of the World.
Other series racing throughout the weekend in a fall festival of sports car and touring car racing include GT America powered by AWS, Pirelli GT4 America, TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School, Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Cup North America and McLaren Trophy America. Those series are conducting doubleheader sprint races Thursday through Saturday.
Fans can view Sunday’s action free of charge from the Turn 2 Mounds.
Single and multiday tickets for the Indianapolis 8 Hour race weekend are available at IMS.com.
