Podium eludes Valentino Rossi on World Endurance Championship debut

Valentino Rossi fell short of a podium finish on his debut in the World Endurance Championship.

Rossi and Team WRT teammates Maxime Martin and Ahmed Al Harthy finished fourth in the season-opening Qatar 1812km.

MotoGP legend Rossi was behind the wheel of the BMW M4 in the LMGT3 class which has been introduced for 2024.

This year, Rossi will compete in the World Endurance Championship and the GT World Challenge.

The addition of his WEC commitments is with a view to racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans - one of his all-time dreams - later this year.

"That was my debut so I was excited," Rossi said to Eurosport.

"I felt good, especially in the first stint. I was fast.

"I kept a good pace. I felt good with the car.

"In the second stint, it was a bit more difficult because the track is very different compared to yesterday, because of a lot of rubber and a lot of grip.

"So you stress the tyres more.

"In the second stint, it was more tricky. For some reason, I had more traffic.

"The condition of the track is in evolution. If you go out of the line..."

Rossi, now aged 44, is into his second season of four-wheel racing since retiring from MotoGP.

Building towards this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans is his ongoing goal.