P1racenews AI automatic summary:
The VR46 squad has talked of its ambitions to be winners again in MotoGP, as it pulled the covers off of its 2026 livery in Rome on Wednesday. But an underwhelming 2025 on the backdrop of more Ducati greatness puts pressure on Valentino Rossi’s outfit to prove it holds more value to the grid beyond its name…
During the MotoGP team launches this pre-season, no team will admit to not being competitive or lacking a winning outfit due to PR strategies. However, there comes a point where strong words become just talk with decreasing believability. The VR46 team’s launch event in Rome, revealing new colors for the upcoming season, expressed urgency to correct past shortcomings in the 2025 season.
Valentino Rossi’s team faced challenges since its announcement for the 2022 MotoGP season, with initial sponsorship claims from Tanal Entertainment turning out to be false. Despite this setback, VR46 secured sponsorship from Mooney for its first two seasons. Lead by Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, the team aimed to provide a path for VR46 Academy talents to reach MotoGP.
Although Bezzecchi clinched three wins in 2023 and finished third in the standings, the 2024 season proved difficult due to struggles with the Ducati GP23. Subsequently, an opportunity arose for Bezzecchi to join the factory Aprilia squad. In 2025, VR46 faced challenges with Di Giannantonio on the factory-spec Ducati, managing three podiums and 262 points. Despite Morbidelli’s respectable performance with two podiums, repeated on-track incidents brought scrutiny from FIM stewards.
