Valentino Rossi wary of Max Verstappen threat at Portimao: "Big problem"

Two of motorsport’s biggest drivers are about to share a grid this weekend, and they’re both very wary of meeting each other during the race. Max Verstappen makes his GT World Challenge Europe debut at the Portimao season finale this weekend, but one of the 60-odd cars he will be racing will be driven by MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi. The nine-time motorcycle world champion has discussed with Sky Sport Italy how he feels about going up against the one of Formula 1’s greatest drivers.

“It’s going to be amazing. I mean, it will be a big problem because he’s sure to be incredibly fast, but it will be fantastic,” he said.

“I have to say, I never imagined I’d be racing towards Max Verstappen. So it’s great, it’ll be great for everyone to have him there, and I hope I get the chance to follow him and see how he drives.”

That is a man who knows exactly what he’s up against, and is excited to use it as a learning moment.

One very crowded grid

Verstappen will be driving the  Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO for Verstappen Racing. He and his co-drivers Chris Lulham and Lexus factory driver Ben Barnicoat will be running in the top Pro class. He’ll arrive at the track following two consecutive wins with Red Bull in Singapore and Malaysia.

Rossi will be driving a BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the Pro class with Team WRT alongside Neil Verhagen and Max Hesse. He’ll be using his usual . This car is in the same category, so it’s likely they will indeed meet each other while driving in anger.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

“Yeah, I hope I get to see him,” Verstappen said. “He’s a very cool guy, so I hope to catch up with him. I mean, it’s nice, but I do not hope to see him in the race, so that’s normally a good sign.

“I actually hope to see no one, to be just up front and do a good job. But you never know. The grid is super competitive, so I’m just looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s very different to Formula 1, but I love it. I mean, I had my first taste already this year at the Nordschleife, and Portimao is a very cool track to drive. So I’m just going to enjoy it and, of course, as a team, we’ll try to do the best we can to get a good result out of it.”

The three-hour race takes place Saturday, 17 October, on the 4.692 km (2.9 miles) Algarve circuit that hosted the Portuguese Grand Prix in 2020 and 2021.

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