MotoGP: VR46 confirm deal with Ducati for two rider team
VR46 will run two Ducati Desmosedici’s for 2022 and onwards.
It has been officially confirmed that VR46 will run not one but two Ducati’s for the 2022 season and beyond as they expand to a full two-rider line-up. Their riders are unconfirmed but it’s thought to be Luca Marini on current GP22 machinery and Moto2 rider Marco Bezzecchi who will step up to the premier class on a GP21 which currently has two wins to its name in the 2021 season thanks to Jack Miller.
These GP22 and GP21 spec bikes are not confirmed, the only teams to have been confirmed to run the GP22 spec bikes are the factory and Pramac riders for obvious reasons, however it is being reported that Marini will also be given access to full spec GP22 machinery also.
The move means that Ducati will field a huge 8 bikes next year occupying 1/3rd of the entire MotoGP grid giving Ducati a huge developmental advantage over smaller 2 bike manufacturers such as Aprilia who will run a full-factory set up next year, no longer running under the independent Gresini badge as the late Fausto Gresini’s team also move to Ducati. They will also have an advantage over 2020 champions Suzuki who despite having the chance to run a satellite team for the first time next year decided to opt-out and remain with two bikes following the exit of Davide Brivio which has blown apart all of Suzuki’s plans.
Alessio ‘Uccio’ Salucci, VR46 : We are happy to announce that in 2022 we will race in MotoGP with a team of two riders in the colours of the VR46. A journey that began a little over eight years ago with the birth of the VR46 Riders Academy, a beautiful adventure shared with Sky, a long, demanding journey, but full of satisfactions and which makes us very proud. This milestone has a truly unique meaning, but it is not an arrival point.
“Year after year, since 2013, we have grown, we have managed to write beautiful pages of our sport between Moto3 and Moto2 and we crossed our path with many young talents of Italian motorcycling that we have had the privilege of being able to support in their growth path and that we will continue to support from the classes lower up to the MotoGP. A key moment in our history that would not be it was possible without Carmelo Ezpeleta who has always believed in this project and to Ducati for the trust he has placed in us for the future.
Carmelo Ezpeleta, Dorna Sports CEO: Having the pleasure of welcoming Team VR46 to the MotoGP category in 2022 is exciting both for fans from all over the world and for the MotoGP paddock followed the incredible career of Valentino Rossi and the growth of the VR46 Riders Academy from the beginning. Valentino is and will continue to be a very important part of the FIM MotoGP World Championship and now, with his team arriving in the class MotoGP, his extraordinary legacy will continue to inspire new generations of riders and fans. We welcome them to the premier class and look forward to many great achievements in the future.
Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager: We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with VR46 for the next three years. Their Academy has always worked seriously and with great professionalism, giving many riders the opportunity to gain experience in Moto2 and Moto3, and today they can be proud to have brought three young riders of great talent. VR46 has also shown that it is able to competently manage the a successful team in Moto3 and Moto2 and therefore we will strive to provide the maximum technical support to their new team in MotoGP, convinced they have found in VR46 an ambitious and motivated partner like us, with a common goal to achieve great results together.
