Valentino Rossi will not continue racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2026. BMW has confirmed that he will not return to its LMGT3 team for a third season. This marks the end of his current journey with Team WRT, the Belgian outfit that supported his move from MotoGP into full-time car racing.

Rossi began racing cars in 2022 after he ended his motorcycle career. He joined WRT and started competing in the GT World Challenge before making his WEC debut in 2024 as a BMW factory driver. He kept his famous No.46 on the car, and he quickly showed strong speed and confidence in endurance racing.

In only his second WEC race, Rossi reached the podium at Imola. Later in the year, he took another third place at Fuji. In 2025 he again finished second at Imola, and he had a real chance to win, but contact with another car and a penalty stopped him from taking his first WEC victory. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025, Rossi delivered an excellent qualifying lap that helped the No.46 BMW join the fight for the LMGT3 lead. Unfortunately, an electrical problem during the night made the car unsafe to drive and the team had to retire. It was Rossi’s second non-finish at Le Mans in two years.

The season still had bright moments. The No.46 BMW finished second at COTA, showing that Rossi remained competitive. However, there were growing signs that BMW and WRT were preparing changes for 2026. Those changes are now confirmed, as Rossi has been removed from the line-up. The No.46 car will be replaced by the No.69, with a new trio of drivers: Anthony McIntosh, Dan Harper and Parker Thompson. Rossi’s three-year contract with BMW ends this year, and he has mentioned several times that he would like to race in the WEC Hypercar class someday, but there is no clear path for that at the moment.

Reports suggest that Rossi may return to the GT World Challenge Europe, where he already has three sprint-race wins. Although he reduced his racing schedule in 2025, he still took part in major endurance events. He raced in the Bathurst 12 Hours and finished on the podium, and he also took part in the 24 Hours of Spa. Shortly before the 2025 WEC season finale in Bahrain, Rossi helped the No.46 BMW win the Indianapolis 8 Hours, one of his strongest car-racing achievements so far.