He was set to make an appearance in the endurance event until a positive Covid test result ruled him out of this year’s race.

Vale has an incredibly long career, and he was always pushing and never giving up. He has shown he is a great team player, humble with his approach and always smiling and positive. Rossi, who moved from Yamaha's factory team to satellite team Petronas Yamaha SRT for the 2021 campaign, is 19th in the riders' standings after nine races - his worst start to a season. Rossi will get his first test of the season in the car later this year at Paul Ricard in March ahead of the season opener for the Endurance championship at Imola in April. I am sure that a lot of fans will be as pleased as we are that Rossi is starting a new career on four wheels and that he is doing it in GT, with Team WRT and Audi,” Team WRT boss Vincent Vosse said of the Rossi announcement. We all know what a great motorbike champion and sports figure Vale is, but most of all, he is a true racer and a very professional and competitive sportsman, eager to be as successful as possible in the new challenge he has decided to embrace.But with Rossi's longevity and his epic battles on tarmac, he has inspired the next generation of motorbiking superstars, none more so than 2021 MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo.

He is the only rider to have started 400 or more races in the sport's history, and has 89 victories in the premier class - no-one in the history of grand prix racing has ever come close to that.He is the only rider to have started 400 or more races in the sports' history, and has amassed a total of 115 victories, with 89 coming in MotoGP.

Team WRT is the perfect fit I was looking for and I am anxious to start this new adventure in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS with them.” Even Hollywood A-listers can't resist his charms. Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Daniel Day-Lewis are huge fans, as is seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton. We warmly welcome Vale in the WRT family and I am sure that we are off to a very exciting experience for both.” Rossi’s attentions have been on GT racing for some time. Last year he competed in the Gulf 12 Hours and along with team-mates Luca Marini and Alessio Salucci, the trio took their Ferrari 488 GT3 to a third-place finish in the Pro-Am class. So what is next for the rider who loves Batman movies, Bob Marley and eating pizza with mayonnaise?I love to race with cars, so I think I will race with cars from next year, but it is not decided yet. I am delighted to welcome Valentino Rossi to the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS grid for 2022,” Ratel stated.

But why? Let names such as Max Biaggi, Fabio Quartararo and Lewis Hamilton fill you in. World titles to world domination His first title in the premier class came in 2001 at the age of 22, the first of five successive championships - on the Honda and then with Yamaha. His final two championships came in 2008 and 2009. No MotoGP round would be complete without Rossi's "Yellow Army" who have followed him for more than 20 years Rossi won the last of his nine titles in 2009, but has remained one of MotoGP's most prominent riders and has long been regarded one of the world's most iconic sportspeople. In 26 years, Rossi has become a global phenomenon, transcending the sport itself and, with it, amassing cult-like status with fans around the world.I have been involved in F1 with the likes of Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna and the rollercoaster Rossi produced was even bigger than them - it was extraordinary." Valentino was and is my idol," said the Frenchman. "When I was six I saw one of his races and he was overtaking on the last corner in Jerez in 2005, and that was the moment I wanted to be there, fighting with MotoGP riders.