BMW confirm Valentino Rossi to leave World Endurance Championships after two seasons

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Valentino Rossi will not continue racing for BMW in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2026, it has been confirmed. The nine-time MotoGP champion has raced for BMW since 2024, having moved from bikes to cars following his final season on two wheels in 2021. Racing in his iconic No. 46, Rossi was due to ride in his third season next year, but he will no longer do so.

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BMW have confirmed that nine-time MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi will not race in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year.

Rossi, 46, was part of the BMW team in the competition for two seasons, but that deal has not been extended for a third season, with the Italian dropped from their line-up for 2026/27.

Rossi’s final MotoGP season was in 2021, where he finished 18th overall, and he transitioned from bikes to cars for the 2022 season.

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He competed in the GT World Challenge with WRT before shifting into the World Endurance Championships two years later.

Driving his iconic No. 46, Rossi finished second in both the 2024 and 2025 editions at Imola and finished third at Fuji in his opening season.

Rossi drove excellently at the Le Mans 24-hour qualifying but was let down by a fault at night, which rendered the car unsafe to drive and subsequently saw him fail to finish.

Valentino Rossi celebrates finishing second with teammates Ahmad Al Harthy and Kelvin Van Der Linde at the Le Mans race in Austin, Texas.

Image credit: Getty Images

His future in the WEC was in question and it is not a surprise that he has been dropped ahead of the 2026 season.

Now BMW have confirmed this is the case, with the No. 46 car moved on and Anthony McIntosh, Dan Harper and Parker Thompson set to drive No. 69 next season.

It is not clear what the future now holds for Rossi, whether he will continue racing or if we have seen him suit up for the very last time.

Rossi won his first World Championship in the 125cc class in 1997, before winning again with Aprilia on a 250cc bike two years later.

He raced in MotoGP for 21 years between 2000 and 2021, and won seven titles, including five in a row between 2001 and 2005.

Also winning in 2008 and 2009, 'The Doctor' is widely regarded as the greatest rider in the history of MotoGP and he is the only one to have competed in 400 or more Grands Prix.

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