Rossi reflects on 'very positive' Bathurst debut

Valentino Rossi was proud of his debut Bathurst performance despite Sunday’s race falling away from Team WRT BMW.

The WRT BMWs crossed the line fourth (#32) and sixth (#46) in Sunday’s LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.

The #32 — with Sheldon van der Linde behind the wheel — was the last car on the lead lap.

Van der Linde raced with 2018 winner Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts.

Rossi’s #46 took the flag a lap down in sixth with Augusto Farfus behind the wheel, with Maxime Martin the third driver.

Much intrigue and attention centred on Rossi over the course of the week, and the Italian impressed on race day.

Rossi kept his nose clean and even ran in the podium positions early on, but the #46’s hopes were ultimately undone by an oil leak.

Rossi battled at the front

In the 10th hour, with Farfus at the wheel, officials forced the team to push the #46 behind pit wall when the entry was running fifth.

Officials deemed the build-up of oil on the taillights a safety issue, with the brake lights no longer visible.

The #46 dropped to seventh and last of the Pro cars running, which became sixth when Daniel Juncadella (#77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG) spun late on.

MotoGP racing legend Rossi — while unable to repeat his Dubai 24 Hour podium — was still happy with his own performance.

It came after Rossi topped Practice 2 on Friday in what was his first session at Mount Panorama.

"My first Bathurst experience has been very good because it’s a great place,” Rossi said.

"For us Europeans, it is a legendary place because we always play it on the simulator.

The oil leak

"To have the chance to race here and experience the real track is great. It is a fantastic circuit.

"You have to maintain attention but it is very enjoyable when you drive.

"I think that also my speed and performance were good.

"I feel good in the car; it is very good to drive, but during the race, especially in the hot conditions, we need a bit more pace.

"We could have been in the top five but overall it was a good race, and being the first experience, it was very positive.”

Rossi earned particular praise from Farfus, who deemed the debutant’s performance “incredible”.

WRT Team Principal Vincent Vosse admitted the overall result was disappointing, but singled out Rossi’s impressive performance.

“We had a disappointing result,” Vosse said.

"Obviously we did not have the tools to fight for anything better.

"This is an incredible event, an incredible track and it’s a pleasure to be here, but in these circumstances it is a bit difficult.

"There is a very positive point and that’s the line-ups. All six drivers have done an outstanding job.

"They made no mistakes at all, they all had a similar speed.

"We also need to mention what Vale did; that was on a very high level for his first attempt at Bathurst.

"It was also really a pleasure to have Augusto in the team for the first time, and great to have Sheldon back with us after a few years.”

WRT BMW will return at the Kyalami 9 Hour in South Africa in three weeks’ time, with Rossi to be replaced by BMW works driver Philipp Eng.