Alcañiz.- The purchase of the Avintia seats by the VR46 to compete from next year in MotoGP came accompanied by great information regarding an alleged sponsorship by an oil company owned by a Saudi prince, who promised a rain of millions for the project led by Valentino Rossi.
However, such sponsorship did not exist at any time and, finally, those responsible for the team based in Tavullia had to admit that, right now, they are without a sponsor for 2022 and looking for the money to raise the minimum budget to be at the start of the championship.
For now, the confirmation of the riders and the colors of the Ducati that were going to be announced this week, have been postponed until the next Misano race, although no one is sure that a new delay may occur. In any case, the couple formed by Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi is assured.
Given all this situation, Rossi insisted this Saturday, once again, that he personally has not carried the weight of the negotiations and that he did not know where the team that bears his name is at.
“Honestly, I don’t know precisely what the situation is with the prince. There are some critical issues, but luckily they are not really my problem,” Il Dottore said.
“I only know what the MotoGP team will do, for which we are already working very hard. I don’t know what the latest updates are, but in any case we will be on the MotoGP grid next year”, assured Rossi.
Regarding his Saturday at the Aragón Grand Prix, Valentino was disappointed with his position on the grid, penultimate only ahead of his temporary teammate Jake Dixon.
“In the afternoon we tried to work with different tires and although my pace was not great, I was around 15th position. But my final result on the grid was very bad (21st)”.
“I have always found myself in the middle of traffic and I have not been able to make a good lap, I could not take advantage of the full potential of the bike. Tomorrow we will see how things go, because the choice of tire is very open and not everyone will know how to make the right choice”, he warned.
Finally, Rossi wanted to send a message of encouragement to one of the most outstanding students of his Academy , Pecco Bagnaia, who will start on pole and pursue his first victory in the premier class.
“Pecco is going really strong, he is a scary rider and the official Ducati is going very strong, because the whole team is doing a great job. He has had several vicissitudes during the season, especially linked to the tires. Otherwise, he would have a lot more points in the championship. I very much hope that tomorrow could be the right moment for Pecco to achieve victory”, wished the legend.
(Click on the link or on the image to see all the photos of Valentino Rossi at the 2021 MotoGP Aragon GP)
