Rossi reduces to Ducati or Yamaha the provider of VR46 in MotoGP

Aramco VR46 Racing Team , the new formation owned by Valentino Rossi that will complete the MotoGP grid in 2022 after absorbing the places of the current Esponsorama Avintia , will race with Ducati or Yamaha motorcycles, the legendary Italian rider has assured this Friday at Le Mans .

“We are in a good moment. Everything is confirmed, starting with the support of our sponsor. We are talking to Ducati and Yamaha , both options have pros and cons. The percentages are the same, both at 50%, but this decision does not correspond only to us”, Valentino released at the end of the starting day of the French Grand Prix .

“The situation will probably unlock in the next few weeks, I think we will know everything after Mugello ”, the Italian Grand Prix race scheduled for May 30.

From the words of Valentino Rossi it follows that the Aprilia option disappears and that now the ball is in Yamaha’s court, since the Japanese do not want to increase their presence on the grid to six bikes, so if they supply prototypes to VR46, they must stop doing it to Petronas , their partner for the last three years.

Right now everything indicates that Yamaha and Petronas will continue hand in hand, and that it will be Ducati who supplies the bikes to Aramco VR46 Racing Team , an option that, however, “has its pros and cons”, as Valentino says.

On the positive side is that Ducati has already made the decision that all its motorcycles next year will be model 2022 and there will be no different versions, something that with Yamaha is not guaranteed without significant financial consideration.

Against it is the fact that Ducati provides all the facilities in the world, all the technical support and engineers, but requires Enea Bastianini to get on one of the two VR46 bikes, which is the great point of friction in the negotiation, since Rossi wants to freely dispose of that second bike, the first being assigned to his brother Luca Marini , for an eventual jump from Marco Bezzecchi to the premier class.

Yamaha in the heart

The relationship between Valentino and Yamaha started in 2003, when the Japanese, thanks to Davide Brivio , convinced him to leave Honda and race with them. Despite the ups and downs, such as when he went to Ducati in 2011 or last year, when he was dropped from the official team, the relationship has remained solid, especially on a commercial level.

“Yamaha has always been in our hearts, we’ve been with them for over 15 years, so if the conditions were right, why not?” Uccio Salucci , Rossi’s friend and assistant and, in theory, director of the VR46.

Although it is very difficult for Japan to give the green light to an agreement with Aramco VR46 Racing Team and leave a team like Petronas by the wayside, the option is not completely closed, since Rossi is aware of the influence he has on the brand of the tuning forks and, above all, that agreement would allow the VR46 to freely dispose of the two bikes, an optimal escape route to climb Bezzecchi or, if necessary, rescue Franco Morbidelli or Valentino himself.

The best photos of Valentino Rossi at the start of Le Mans

Valentino Rossi, Petronas Yamaha SRT