Rossi admits “small mistake” on four wheels - as race ends early due to puncture

Rossi was not behind the wheel at the time - his Team WRT teammate Augusto Farfus was driving when damaged was caused to the left rear tyre. It returned to the garage but had diffuser damage.

The Team WRT #46 BMW had qualified on the front row and Rossi then set the fastest individual lap time of the opening phase of the three-hour race.

He was in P3 but made an error at a chicane on lap 28, and dropped to 14th.

Rossi later said: “It’s a bad result, but a good weekend, as we proved that we are strong and have good potential. 

“We had a good qualifying and a good first part of the race. Unfortunately, I did a small mistake at the first chicane when the stint was almost over and lost a lot of time before I could put back first gear after falling in neutral. 

“Then there was the puncture and the race was over, it’s a shame because we had the potential for a good result.”

Team boss Vincent Vosse said: “Then there were these two punctures and it was just unfortunate because they both appear to have been caused by debris. 

“I am very happy with the great work by the team and the good results in the classes of cars #30 and #31, and was impressed by the pace of Vale in his stint. It may come as a surprise to some, but not to us.”

The MotoGP legend, now 44, was starting his second season as a four-wheel racer and attracted a bumper crowd of around 30,000 fans to the track in Italy, the country that adores him.

ROWE Racing enjoyed a one-two finish to kick off the season - the #98 trio of Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly claiming the win.