Everything you need to know about Valentino Rossi’s VR46 MotoGP team including current riders and bike

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Valentino Rossi is one of the greatest motorcycle racers ever and he returned to the MotoGP paddock in 2022 via his VR46 Racing Team, so here is all you need to know.

Seven-time premier class champion Rossi founded VR46 as an offshoot of the Italian’s very successful VR46 Riders Academy. Rossi wanted to use his experience, skills and platform to help young Italian riders combat the increasing number of Spaniards on the road to MotoGP.

VR46 initially entered the world championship as a Moto3 crew in 2014 before expanding to Moto2 in 2017 and MotoGP in 2022. Their lightweight and intermediate class efforts helped Academy products Francesco Bagnaia, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi get into MotoGP.

But what is the full story behind VR46 Racing Team in MotoGP? With that in mind, MotoGP News takes a deep dive into everything you need to know about Rossi’s VR46 Racing Team.

VR46 MotoGP team name

VR46 currently officially race in MotoGP under the name of Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team as the outfit signed a three-year title sponsorship deal with the Indonesian lubricants company, Pertamina, in January 2024. The deal is due to run through 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Pertamina replaced the Mooney Group as VR46’s title sponsor after the team started out in MotoGP associated with the Italian financial technology company. VR46 also operated with various title sponsors through the squad’s time competing in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes.

• Official MotoGP team name: VR46 Racing Team (2022 – present)
• Current MotoGP team name: Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team (2024 – 2026)
• Previous MotoGP team name: Mooney VR46 Racing Team (2022 – 2023)

VR46 Racing Team founding year

Valentino Rossi initially founded VR46 Racing Team after securing a partnership between his VR46 Riders Academy and Sky Italia in 2014 to help young Italian motorcycle racers rise up the world championship ladder. VR46 later debuted in Moto2 in 2017 and also MotoGP in 2022.

In order to establish VR46 as a MotoGP team, Rossi ceased their Moto3 operations after the 2020 season and also halted racing in Moto2 after the 2022 campaign. VR46 continued with sporadic Moto3 wildcard entries through the 2021 season in partnership with Team Bardahl.

A partnership with Yamaha kept VR46 involved in the Moto2 paddock for the 2023 and 2024 seasons via the Master Camp team. But Rossi’s VR46 and Yamaha parted ways ahead of the 2025 campaign as Pramac took over the operations of the Japanese crew’s Moto2 interests.

VR46 Racing Team’s current MotoGP riders

VR46 Racing Team currently fields Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli as their two riders for the 2025 MotoGP season. But while VR46 Riders Academy product Morbidelli has a contract with only Valentino Rossi’s squad, Di Giannantonio has a factory Ducati contract.

VR46 current MotoGP team manager and leadership hierarchy

Valentino Rossi owns VR46 Racing Team and employs the Italian’s long-time right-hand man and assistant Alessio ‘Uccio’ Salucci as the MotoGP entry’s team director. VR46 also employs Pablo Nieto, Angel Nieto’s son, as their team manager at the top of their MotoGP hierarchy.

VR46 are a MotoGP satellite team of Ducati Corse

VR46 Racing Team are one of two satellite Ducati crews on the 2025 MotoGP grid alongside Gresini Racing. Ducati have supplied their Desmosedici bikes to VR46 since the crew’s debut in MotoGP in 2022, when Luca Marini raced a GP22 and Marco Bezzecchi raced a GP21 bike.

Which bike does VR46 run in the 2025 MotoGP season?

As a satellite MotoGP team of Ducati, the Borgo Panigale brand supply VR46’s bikes for the 2025 season. But VR46 are the only MotoGP team running two different specs, with Ducati supplying a factory GP25 bike for Fabio Di Giannantonio plus a GP24 for Franco Morbidelli.

Ducati supply VR46 with a factory-spec Desmosedici GP25 as Di Giannantonio is a factory-affiliated rider, while Morbidelli makes do with a year-old GP24 bike as he is contracted only to VR46. Morbidelli is also familiar with the GP24 after racing one during 2024 with Pramac.

VR46 MotoGP team lineage

VR46 Racing Team’s MotoGP lineage can be traced via Avintia Esponsorama Racing as the squad adopted the Spanish crew’s premier class grid slots in the 2022 season. Esponsorama withdrew from MotoGP after 10 seasons with their last year also spent as a partner of VR46.

Before formally joining MotoGP as a fully-blown premier class squad for the 2022 campaign, VR46 partnered with Esponsorama Racing to give Luca Marini his top-tier debut in 2021. He debuted in MotoGP on a Sky VR46 Avintia/Esponsorama-branded Ducati Desmosedici GP19.

VR46 MotoGP riders’ championships

As of the time of writing, VR46 Racing Team are yet to help a pilot secure a MotoGP riders’ championship title. But Marco Bezzecchi emerged as a surprise title contender during the 2023 season when the Italian came third in the riders’ championship with his Ducati GP22.

VR46 MotoGP teams’ championships

As of the time of writing, VR46 Racing Team are yet to win a MotoGP teams’ championship title. But thanks to Marco Bezzecchi hauling his year-old Ducati Desmosedici GP22 into the riders’ championship mix VR46 got a career-best to-date third in the 2023 teams’ standings.

VR46 factory base

VR46 Racing Team’s headquarters are based at the MotoGP squad’s factory set in the Italian commune of Tavullia, which is also the home town of their owner Valentino Rossi. Tavullia is located in the historical region of Romagna, Italy and is also near Rossi’s iconic motor ranch.

Factory address

VR46 Racing Team: Via Pio la Torre, 1, 61010 Tavullia PU, Italy