Why Valentino Rossi, now 43, can’t say no to another race...

Nine-time motorcycle world champion Rossi, now 43, brought his MotoGP career to a halt at the end of last season but now is behind the wheel of a Team WRT Audi R8 and will race at the GT World Challenge Europe at Brands Hatch on Sunday.

It will be the second race of his new adventure - in his debut at Imola, he finished 17th after a mishap during his team pit stop resulting in him driving past his crew. 

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But Rossi was, as usual, all smiles in the build-up to his second race and revealed why he made the transition: “I always had an idea to race with cars, since when I started with motorcycles.

“This idea with GT3 helped me to stop with the bikes!

“To stop was very difficult. I drove cars in the past just to improve my skills. 

“I want to be competitive.

“You need something - you need to feel the adrenaline, to remain a driver, to remain on the track, to jump in the car, to wear the helmet.

“This is the same as from when I was five-years-old.

“I hope I can race cars for [several] seasons.”

Swapping MotoGP for GT World Challenge

The 24 Hours of Spa and Le Mans are the new goals set by Rossi for himself.

“I want to be competitive with the good guys – to have the speed and drive the car at the maximum, to be as strong as them,” he said. 

“Yes, Le Mans is an ambition but this year we race in Spa and that is the greatest race for the GT3 cars because you have 60 cars and all in the same class. 

“Le Mans is another story with different cars and on the track and I’m very excited for Spa.

“Also because I have never driven at Spa. I have never been there and everybody says that it is a great track. 

“After, also in the future, I would like to try Le Mans.”

Here’s how to live stream the 2022 MotoGP Jerez for free no matter where you are in the world.

ExpressVPN is offering all customers an extra three months free if they take out the 12-month plan (a saving of 49%) and a 30-day money-back guarantee so they can try it risk-free.

Here's how you can watch live for free online in 2022:

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Geo-blocking is often a problem that many faces when trying to stream live but ExpressVPN allows you to do so with ease.

How does ExpressVPN work?

ExpressVPN allows you to securely relocate your device to any country.

How to watch Jerez highlights for free online

To watch highlights for free on YouTube:

1. Get ExpressVPN

2. Connect to a server location in the UK

3. Visit the official YouTube channel. Tune in to the Jerez highlights

How to watch on TV

Live MotoGP: Spain Opening Day begins from 8am on Friday, until 3pm, live on BT Sport 2 and covering Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2.

MotoE qualifying is live on BT Sport 2 from 3.45pm on Friday.

On Saturday, the action begins live on BT Sport 2 from 8am with coverage of Free Practice 3.

Then from 11am on the same channel we have live coverage of Qualifying.

From 3.15pm, MotoE Race 1 is live.

The Rookies Cup is live from 4.15pm.

On Sunday the Jerez warm-up is live on BT Sport 2 from 8am.

The Moto3 race is live from 9.15am before the Moto2 race at 11am.

BT Sport 2’s live coverage of MotoGP Jerez is live from 12.30pm. And their post-race show, Chequered Flag, is on at 2pm.