Moto GP
Valentino Rossi’s COTA WEC Hopes Dashed by Late Mechanical Failure: #46 WRT BMW Retires 15 Minutes from Finish
Valentino Rossi's COTA WEC race thwarted by late mechanical failure
Mechanical troubles struck the #46 WRT BMW just 15 minutes before the conclusion of the Lone Star Le Mans
The #46 WRT BMW LMGT3 vehicle, piloted by Valentino Rossi, Ahmad Al Harthy, and Maxime Martin, withdrew from the Austin World Endurance Championship race just 15 minutes before its conclusion.
During the opening stint of last Sunday's Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas, the car marked with MotoGP legend Rossi's iconic #46 impressively moved up from 15th place in its class to fifth.
Al Harty placed the car in a favorable position during his stint, and teammates Rossi and Martin upheld that impressive speed.
As the race was coming to an end, with just 15 minutes remaining, the car was in the top five when a hydraulics problem arose, forcing it to withdraw from the competition.
“The weekend experienced both positive and negative moments,” stated Vincent Vosse, the head of the WRT team.
“While we are disappointed by the outcome, there are several positive aspects to consider.
"We were the sole competitors able to match the Ferrari's pace in the Hypercar class during the first half of the race, which was a significant achievement."
"At this point, we need to figure out how to perform flawlessly until the race concludes."
“However, we should maintain a positive outlook and concentrate on the upcoming race in Fuji, scheduled for two weeks from now. The results in the LMGT3 category have been underwhelming.”
"We did our best with car #31. Car #46 experienced a technical malfunction, specifically with the power steering. We will conduct a thorough investigation to determine what led to this issue."
"The teams we are competing against ended up ahead of us, which means we lost more points to the top two leaders. We need to figure out ways to perform better in Fuji."
The Heart of Racing team, driving the #27 Aston Martin, secured a victory in the LMGT3 category at COTA. Meanwhile, the other WRT vehicle, marked as #31, finished in fifth place.
The #83 AF Corse Ferrari, driven by former Formula 1 driver Robert Kubica, along with Robert Shwartzman and Yifie Ye, secured both an outright victory and the top prize in the Hypercar class.
Rossi's debut season in the World Endurance Championship has had its ups and downs; the #46 vehicle managed to secure a podium finish at Imola but has not achieved similar results in subsequent races.
Rossi believed that his previous experience racing at COTA during his MotoGP career from 2013 to 2021 would benefit him as the weekend approached.
“I consistently achieve greater speed and performance on familiar tracks with my motorcycle,” Rossi shared with Sportscar365.
“You can transfer a lot of knowledge. You're familiar with the track, understand the racing lines, and know where the bumps and the grip points are.
"However, definitely, the GT experience is distinct in certain ways. You can take significant shortcuts and follow varied racing lines."
"Ultimately, the track remains unchanged. Therefore, being familiar with it while on the bike is a significant benefit."
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