Nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle world champion Rossi is in his 26th season in the MotoGP World Championship and possibly his last as his current Yamaha deal with Petronas SRT expires in late 2021.
Rossi will decide his MotoGP future during the summer break, but is currently in the middle of his worst Grand Prix season ever, with just 15 points from the first seven races.
Rossi is believed to have performance criteria in his Yamaha contract that he must meet in 2021 before discussions can begin on 2022, which his current form is unlikely to meet.
Rossi has made no secret of his desire to continue driving cars even after retiring from MotoGP and expresses his interest in the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Rossi has made successful endurance runs with Ferrari GT3 machines in recent years and says that if he retires from MotoGP, he will likely compete in this class of machines – although he doesn’t know which series.
“As I always said, when I’m done in MotoGP, I want to drive the cars,” said Rossi.
“I’ve had some rallying experience because I’m a rally fan.
“I also drove a world championship race, but the rally in the end is difficult for me because it is very demanding and I want to drive on circuits because I prefer it, I like it more.
Valentino Rossi in Blancpain Endurance Series action at Monza in 2012
Photo by: SRO
“I have experience in GT3 racing, which is an interesting category because there are many different works cars, important – from Ferrari to Porsche, from Bentley to Aston Martin.
“I think I’ll be racing this type of car when I stop racing in MotoGP. But to be honest, I don’t know in which championship.
“There is a difference – there is the endurance championship, there is the 24 hours, there are a lot of races. But I hope that I can race there. “
Rossi has made several outings with Ferrari GT3 machines over the past ten years, with two appearances in the Blancpain Endurance Series 2012 for Kessel Racing at Monza and at the Nürburgring.
Rossi stayed with Kessel and in 2019, alongside current Avintia MotoGP rider Luca Marini and his right-hand man Uccio Salucci, clinched a class win in the Pro-Am and third place overall at the Gulf 12 Hours in Abu Dhabi.
Rossi also contested the Bahrain 12 Hours with the same team in January of this year, finishing third on the podium.
Outside of GT racing, Rossi has contested two rounds of the World Rally Championship, crashing at Rally GB in 2002 and finishing eleventh at Rally New Zealand in 2006 in a two-year-old Subaru Impreza.
Rossi is also a seven-time winner of the Monza Rally and has completed numerous Formula 1 tests for Ferrari and Mercedes – the latter will come to Valencia in 2019 as part of a drive swap with Lewis Hamilton.