“We could have fought with Verstappen”: Valentino Rossi rues qualifying mistake

Moto GP legend Valentino Rossi was left disappointed after a mistake during qualifying cost him a chance to start close to Max Verstappen at the GT World Challenge Europe event in Portimao, Portugal. The MotoGP legend had set a competitive lap time and believed he could have been in a strong position on the starting grid. However, his lap was deleted for exceeding track limits, leaving him without a valid time. Rossi said the result was frustrating because he believed he could have challenged Verstappen and his own team's other car.Track limits ruin Valentino Rossi's qualifying sessionAt the GT World Challenge Europe event, the starting grid is decided by the average of each driver's best lap times. During Q1, Q2 and Q3, all three drivers in each car complete flying laps.Valentino Rossi felt his qualifying session had gone well until his lap time was deleted. Speaking to Sky Italia, he explained how the lost time affected his chances."We’re very, very disappointed because the lap had been good, the weather was good, and it would have allowed us to start very close to Verstappen and very close to the #32, our teammates, so it had been a good qualifying session," he said.ID@undefined Caption not available.The Italian said he had tried to stay within track limits at the difficult corners but went slightly wide at Turn 4 while driving close to another car.Valentino Rossi explains what went wrongValentino Rossi admitted that he had expected to lose some time at risky corners but did not think he would exceed track limits at Turn 4."Honestly, I was expecting it because I had always left myself a little bit of margin in all the risky corners, but at Turn 4, I went over the limit by just a tiny bit. I was close to another car, so I went a little wide, and that meant I exceeded track limits,” Rossi said."The problem was that, since I had set a good lap, I had another lap available, but I was behind another car and slowed down because I thought to myself, ‘I’ve already got a lap time, and I’ll lose time trying to overtake him anyway,” he added.Rossi's decision to slow down proved costly. By the time he learned that his earlier lap had been deleted, he no longer had enough time to set another competitive lap.ID@undefined Caption not available.He was left facing a start near the back of the field. "We were left without a time and will start second-to-last, 60th, something like that," he said.Valentino Rossi believes the lost opportunity was particularly frustrating because he felt he had the pace to start close to Verstappen. "So it’s a shame because we could have fought with Verstappen, as we were right there, and it would have been great. But instead, this is how it’s turned out," he said.Verstappen and his team are scheduled to start the race from 15th on the grid, putting them in a position to fight their way forward during the endurance event.GT World Challenge Europe season finale: Race scheduleThe final endurance race of the GT World Challenge Europe season is scheduled to take place at the Portimao circuit on Saturday.The three-hour race is due to start at 17:00 GMT (18:00 CEST) and finish at around 20:00 GMT (21:00 CEST).While Rossi faces a difficult task after his qualifying setback, Verstappen and his team will aim to make progress from 15th place on the starting grid.Also read: Valentino Rossi net worth: How the nine-time world champion built his $210 million fortuneStay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.