VR46 and MotoGP, an indissoluble relationship. It’s true, this will be the first season after 26 years that Valentino Rossi will not be on the starting grid of the World Championship, but his trademark, his legacy, will certainly be there. And he will do it big.
In its ninth season in the World Championship, after having also conquered a Moto2 crown with Pecco Bagnaia in 2018, the VR46 Racing Team will take the big step towards the premier class, and it is curious that it does so in the year in which its founder decided to hang up his helmet, even if in 2021 he had already had a first taste, “coloring” the Ducati of Luca Marini, which however was managed by Avintia Esponsorama.
The brother of the “Doctor” will be the top man of the Tavullia team again this year, but this time he will have the right tools. If in 2019 he had to deal with an old GP19, still managing to conquer a top 5 and a front row on his debut, this time he will have a Desmosedici GP22 at his disposal the same as that of the official riders.
Definitely a great responsibility, but also a great opportunity for a rider who even in the past has shown that he may need a little more time to adapt, but who then managed to take home six wins in Moto2, finishing as vice-champion. in 2020. And the start of the season was certainly positive, given that Mandalika’s tests ended with the third fastest time for him.
Valentino Rossi, VR46 Racing Team on stage
Photo by: Media VR46
“This year we can all have fun. It is a very competitive historic moment in MotoGP, but it is wonderful that it is. We have to work on all the small details and I think that as a team we can make a difference. But I want to make a special thanks too. to Ducati for all the support they gave us, “said Luca.
On the other side of the box there is a rookie like Marco Bezzecchi. A boy who has already shown that he has what it takes to aspire to something important. After all, in 2018 the Moto3 World Championship was played almost to the end with Jorge Martin, rookie of the year last season and already indicated by many as a rising star of MotoGP. Without forgetting that in the middle he also took three wins in Moto2, finishing third in the World Championship last year.
His will have to be a year of apprenticeship, also because among the Ducati riders he is among those who still have the “old” GP21, a bike that in any case in the past season allowed the Borgo Panigale manufacturer to conquer the constructors’ title, with which he given the feeling of steady growth over the winter test days.
“It’s strange, because arriving in MotoGP is a huge milestone and I haven’t achieved that much yet. I’ll have to learn a lot, but I’ve already had a lot of fun in the tests, so I’m very happy to start,” added Marco.
VR46 Racing Team
After having seen them in action with black livery on the occasion of the pre-season, the curiosity today was for the colors worn on the fairings by the new title sponsor Mooney, the Italian company of Proxumity Banking & Payments, which takes over from Sky, which has supported the program since from its beginnings in 2014, and above all it launched a life preserver to the team in the last days of 2021, after the agreement with the Saudi prince for the Aramco sponsorship was blown.
After a short introductory video with the pilots showing “their” Tavullia, the event moved to the Rossini Theater in Pesaro, for an old-fashioned presentation with DJs Vic and Albertino as hosts. Together with them Alessio “Uccio” Salucci, Alberto Tebaldi and obviously the great protagonists, the pilots, as well as the leaders of the main sponsor alternated. The guest of honor, Valentino Rossi, could not be missing.
“We are very happy to have reached this point, because we started from Moto3 and this year we will be doing MotoGP for the first time. It’s a bit like closing a circle, but it would also be nice to start a new story in MotoGP. I our riders will do their best to do it, but we’ll see what the track will say, “said the” Doctor “.
The highlight was obviously that of the unveiling of the bikes and gray and black are the dominant colors, to which two different shades of yellow have been added, the darker one of Mooney and the more fluorescent one of the VR46 that “get married” on the side of the hull, and with the second that also covers the tail and the fairing.
Today was also the “first” for the team’s Moto2 line-up, which unveiled the two Kalexes of Celestino Vietti and Niccolò Antonelli. For the first, this will be the second season in the team and in the category, after last year he finished the World Championship in 12th place, touching the podium on two occasions in the final (fourth in both Misano and Valencia). For the “Tigre” it is instead the debut in the middle class, after ten seasons and four victories in Moto3.
VR46 Racing Team bike
Photo by: Media VR46
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