Max Verstappen confirmed in Mercedes as 61-car entry list announced for Portimao

One of the biggest motorsport crossovers has been confirmed as Max Verstappen prepares to go head-to-head with Valentino Rossi in a matchup for the ages.

The idea of MotoGP's finest going up against the best of what F1 has to offer is something you can usually only reserve for fantasy racing, but now it is about to come true at Portimao this weekend.

The entry list for the GT World Challenge three-hour race has been revealed and it confirms that the Red Bull driver and the seven-time MotoGP champion, who retired from the sport in 2021, will face off on Saturday.

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Verstappen vs Rossi machinery confirmed

Verstappen will be behind the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO as part of Team Verstappen Racing along with British racers Ben Barnicoat and Chris Lulham, of course as the No. 3 car that the Dutchman also has with his Red Bull car in F1.

Rossi meanwhile will be in a BMW M4 GT3 EVO as part of Team WRT along with American Neil Verhagen and German driver Max Hesse. Rossi also gets his famous race number as the No. 46 which he was associated with across seven premier class titles between 2001 and 2009.

There are four different categories among the 60 confirmed entrants of Pro, Gold, Silver and Bronze, but Verstappen and Rossi will effectively be racing each other in the top Pro category.

The final entry list is still to be confirmed but what is certain is Verstappen and Rossi's involvement, and if they get into battle on track, the Italian legend may not be prepared to give him much leeway based on one of his humorous comments in a recent interview.

Verstappen last-minute replacement

While looking like something planned for a while, Verstappen going against Rossi is actually a complete accident.

The Red Bull driver was looking for a weekend off after three back-to-back F1 races, winning the last two in Malaysia and Singapore.

Instead he will compete in seven races across seven weekends, with F1 set for another triple header in the USA, Mexico and Brazil following his GT outing.

Verstappen, who has already competed in the Nurburgring 24 Hours race earlier this year, admitted he is only racing in Portimao due to regular drivers Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon having clashing commitments

He said: "I know that two of my drivers won't be part of the line-up, so two other drivers need to step in.

"I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a busy seven weeks, but we'll do it, and I enjoy it anyway. Let's see what we can do there."

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, Portimao entry list

The entry list for Portimao - which also includes former F1 star Nikita Mazepin, back after a long ban imposed on Russian drivers was ended - is as follows:

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Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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