Valentino Rossi fell short of a podiꦑum finish on his debut in the World Endurance Championship.

Rossi and Team WRT teammates Maxime Martin an🌸d Ahmed Al Harthy finis♒hed fourth in the season-opening Qatar 1812km.

ꦜMotoGP legend Rossi was behind the wheel of the𒁃 BMW M4 in the LMGT3 class which has been introduced for 2024.

This year, Rossi will compete in the World Enduranꦿce Championship a𒁃nd the GT World Challenge.

The addition of his WEC commitments is with a view to racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans♒ - one of his all-time dreams - later thi꧅s year.

"That was my debut so I was excited," Ro🅠ssi said to Eurosport.

🧔"I felt good🐷, especially in the first stint. I was fast.

"I kept a good pace. I felt good with the car.

"In the second stint, it was a bit more difficult because the track is very different compared to yesterday, because of a 🍃lot of rubber and a lo🍨t of grip.

"So you stress the tyres more.

"I🌞n the second stint, it was more tricky. For some reason, I had more traffic.

"Th🐼e condition of the track is ▨in evolution. If you go out of the line..."

Rossi, now ಌaged 44, is into his second season of four-wheel racing since retiring from MotoGP.

Buildin🥃g tow♛ards this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans is his ongoing goal.