Valentino Rossi’s Le Mans hopes end as No. 46 BMW retires with technical trouble

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi’s bid for a breakthrough class victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans came to a heartbreaking end just before the halfway mark, after WRT was forced to retire the No. 46 BMW due to a technical issue.

The car Rossi shared with two-time Nurburgring 24 Hours winner Kelvin van der Linde and bronze-rated Omaniu driver Ahmad Al-Harthy led the race into the darkness in the LMGT3 division, having qualified third on the grid.

Although the No. 46 BMW slipped to second when AF Corse deployed factory Ferrari driver Alessio Rovera in the No. 21 Ferrari 296 GT3, it remained firmly in the hunt for top honours, especially with platinum-rated van der Linde returning behind the wheel.

However, disaster struck in the middle of the 11th hour when van der Linde went off at Porsche Curves and got beached in the gravel with what was later revealed to be an electrical issue.

A crane was dispatched which allowed van der Linde to escape the gravel trap, with the South African subsequently able to get going again and return to the pitlane after losing just one lap.

WRT mechanics carried out swift repairs and sent van der Linde back on track, but he was forced to return to the garage after only a few laps. 

Van der Linde was later seen shaking hands with crew members, effectively confirming that the race was over for the fan-favourite No. 46 entry.

WRT formally announced the car’s retirement shortly after, ending Rossi’s second appearance at the French endurance classic. It marked another frustrating near-miss after last year’s race, when Al Harthy crashed on a wet track while still on slick tyres during the night.

Double blow for WRT

Shortly into the 13th hour, WRT suffered further misfortune when its sister No. 31 BMW was wheeled into the garage with damage after reportedly hitting a rabbit on track.

The car, shared by Yasser Shahin, Timur Boguslavskiy and Augusto Farfus, remained in the garage and had lost five laps to the LMGT3 leaders at the time of writing.