Valentino Rossi’s outfit has been a presence in the MotoGP paddock for almost a decade, having started out in Moto3 in 2014 before expanding into Moto2 in 2017.
In 2022, VR46 closed down its Moto2 and Moto3 teams to step up to MotoGP as a Ducati satellite squad, fielding Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi.
Despite an offer from Pramac to ride a factory bike next year, Bezzecchi elected to remain with VR46, while Marini has also re-signed for 2024.
VR46 team director Uccio Salucci told Autosport in an exclusive interview last weekend at Misano that he “hopes my job” with Bezzecchi ends for 2025 and the rider steps up to a factory squad.
“I didn’t want a one [year] or one plus one,” Salucci said when asked if signing Bezzecchi only for 2024 was part of a plan to ensure he gets a factory ride in 2025.
“Some inside the team pushed me for this way, but I didn’t want. I said [I wanted] just one year because I hope that at the end of the next year that Bezzecchi goes onto the factory team and I hope Ducati factory.
“At the end of next year, all the factory contracts stop, and maybe he has a lot of situations.
“I hope he continues with Ducati, because for me it’s the right bike for him. But my job with Marco, I hope, stops at the end of the next year.”
Source: Autosport