Rossi to drive Ferrari at LeMans (Update)
Word has it that Ferrari could send Valentino Rossi and Fernando Alonso to pilot its prototype at Le Mans in 2015 or 2016. The rumors were tweeted by Mark Webber (embedded below), who recently left F1 to drive for Porsche at Le Mans – and could amount to pure speculation, to some inside track on hard news or (as is often the case) something in between. One way or another, both Rossi and Alonso are multiple world champions in their fields with strong ties to Maranello and would make a formidable lineup – particularly if paired, we'd venture, with Ferrari's test driver Marc Gené, who won at Le Mans with Peugeot in 2009.
Although the Rossi connection would seem the greater stretch, it might actually make the most sense of the two. With nothing left to prove on two wheels, the seven-time MotoGP champion has been talking about leaving the series. He's test-driven Ferrari F1 cars on several occasions and raced the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3in the Blancpain Endurance Series last season. The move would be a rare departure for Alonso, however, who has raced almost exclusively in open-wheel single seaters his entire career, and would need to balance the program with his F1 commitments. That is, assuming he doesn't get fed up with chasing after Sebastian Vettel and teaming with Kimi Raikkonen by then.
Whoever the drivers, the Ferrari entry would mark the first time a Prancing Horse would compete in the top class at Le Mans since the privateer-entry 333 SP in the mid-90s, the first factory effort since the 312P in the mid-70s and, if successful, would be the first Ferrari (or for that matter the first Italian team altogether) to win the French endurance race outright since the mid-60s.
12/23/13 FERRARI are weighing up a return to the Le Mans prototype class and the rumors are that Valentino Rossi and Fernando Alonso could be two of the factory's drivers.
Rossi and Ferrari have a growing relationship. Rossi has tested a Ferrari F1 car on various occasions and impressed the team with his times. More recently, Rossi raced a Ferrari 458 GT3 in the 2012 Blancpain Endurance series.
Ferrari have not entered a prototype at Le Mans since the 312P in 1973. Antonello Coletta, head of Ferrari's non-F1 sporting activities said: "I cannot say we will be in LMP1 but I cannot say we will not be in LMP1 either. If we did join, it would be a full-factory effort and not just as an engine supplier."
Long-time F1 driver Mark Webber, who has made a switch to drive a Porsche LMP1 in 2014, tweeted: "Great to hear that Ferrari looking to return to Le Mans racing too?? Driver line up for 2015/16 @alo_oficial and @ValeYellow46 #willwork"
Rossi has already stated that if he is not competitive in the first half of the 2014 MotoGP season that he will retire from motorcycle racing at the end of 2014.