Rossi teammate Maxime Martin leaves BMW for new challenges

Spa 24 Hours winner Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi’s regular team-mate for the past two seasons, is leaving BMW for the second time.

The German manufacturer released the news on Monday, saying the 38-year-old Belgian is ending his latest stint with BMW “at his own request to face new challenges.”

Just two years later, Martin left BMW. rejoining the marque During this time he raced with seven-time MotoGP title winner Rossi in the GT World Challenge Europe and World Endurance Championship.

He was a factory BMW driver from 2013 to 2017, then moved to Aston Martin for five seasons and then returned to a manufacturer, with whom his father Jean-Michel took two of his four Spa victories ahead of the 2023 season. , during which he co-driven. With Rossi in both legs of the GTWC.

Martin said: “BMW M Motorsport has played an important role in my career from the very beginning, and I remember with great fondness everything we have achieved together – my first wins in the DTM and the 24-hour race. From successes to recent victories with the BMW M4 GT3.

“I am very grateful for the time we spent together and for my seven years as a BMW M Works driver.

“But now it’s time for me to take on new challenges.”

Martin has not yet revealed his plans for 2025.

BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Ross paid tribute to Martin, calling him “one of the defining faces of our programs” and a “tremendous asset”.

Martin achieved his Spa victory in 2016 with the factory Roewe Racing squad alongside Alexander Sims and Philipp Eng aboard a BMW M6 GT3.

He spent four seasons in the DTM with BMW from 2014–17, driving first for the RMG team and then for RBM, claiming a total of three wins.

He Cited desire to return to his sportscar racing roots For his decision to leave BMW for Aston Martin, with whom he scored a GTE Pro class victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2020, co-driving a Vantage GTE with Alex Lynn and Harry Tincknell.

Martin teamed up with Rossi to take race wins in the GTWCE Sprint Cup in both ’23 and ’24, both at the wheel of the M4 GT3 run by the WRT team at the Italian’s home track in Misano.

His best result this season was second at Imola in April when shared with Ahmed Al Harthi in the WEC’s new LMGT3 class.

It has not yet been announced where Rossi will race with BMW next year seems to retreat in 2024 on a schedule that spanned 16 races.

He said this after last month’s Bahrain WEC finale He was likely to focus on the WEC at BMW’s request. And leave your GTWCE program.