The move of Luca Marini to Repsol Honda in MotoGP now seems to be just a matter of an official announcement. The Mooney VR46 Racing Team considers the rider as lost as it is already looking for a replacement at the Moto2 grid.

Uccio Salucci, one of the leaders at VR46, stated to MotoGP.com that a decision will soon be made: ‘We want to recruit a young rider from Moto2. There are some potential candidates. A decision will be made in the next three to four days’.

Thus, Fabio Di Giannantonio is excluded from the list of options, and regardless of the chosen one, Salucci is aware that payment will be necessary: ‘If you lose a rider of Marini’s caliber in November, then you have to buy back riders from the Moto2 teams. We’ve talked to everyone and not just one team, not just [Fermín] Aldeguer. Definitely, we have to pay something, but that’s how it works in our sport’.

Valentino Rossi’s friend also addressed the possibility of Tony Arbolino being the chosen one: ‘I like Tony. He’s a very good rider. He’s very young and Italian. He is one of the candidates. But we’re not just talking about Tony and Fermín. There are other fast riders that I really like. This will become clear in the next few days. We won’t have to wait long’.

O conteúdo VR46 «confirms» Luca Marini at Honda: ‘We want to recruit a young rider from Moto2’ aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

After two seasons with Mooney, the VR46 Racing Team will have a new title sponsor in MotoGP in 2024. The sponsor will be PT Pertamina Lubricants, and the team will be known as Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team.

The Indonesian oil company will be a partner of the VR46 Racing Team for the next three years. The team will use Pertamina’s lubricants, and their logos will be featured on the Ducati bikes, helmets, and racing suits of Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi.

Alessio Salucci, team director, stated in a press release: ‘Welcoming Pertamina Lubricants, which for the next three seasons will be the title partner of the VR46 Racing Team, marks in a crucial way the history of our Team, an important piece and a further step forward in achieving our goals. We are truly honored to have entered into an agreement with a brand of this kind in the world of motorsport. With this new synergy, we not only share common ambitions, but we combine the two largest and most loyal fan bases in MotoGP. A bridge between the Italian fans and all those who follow us from Indonesia and to whom we hope to give important satisfactions in the future. This long-term project between two companies so experienced in the world of motorcycling and competitions, such as VR46 Racing Team and Pertamina Lubricants, aims to bring true passion for this sport from a unique point of view to hundreds of thousands of fans all around the world. In 2024, a new era of our history in MotoGP starts, an adventure full of successes, which began only two years ago, and which would not have been possible without the support and participation of a partner like Mooney who I would like to thank personally for mutual trust and respect’.

From Pertamina’s side, President Director Werry Prayogi mentioned: ‘The partnership between PT Pertamina Lubricants and VR46 Racing Team is a strategic move to extending our vision of becoming a champion in the lubricants industry. This is proof that VR46 Racing Team and Valentino Rossi place great trust in the international quality of Pertamina Enduro’.

O conteúdo VR46 Racing Team announces a new title sponsor for 2024 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.

After Marco Bezzecchi, the Mooney VR46 Racing Team has confirmed that Luca Marini will also stay in MotoGP with the team for the next season. The rider has been with VR46 since Moto2 in 2018 and made his debut in the premier class in 2021.

Over these years, the Italian secured his first podiums in the World Championships and was the runner-up in Moto2. In the current season, he is seventh in the MotoGP World Championship, with a podium finish and consistent top-ten performances.

Uccio Salucci, team director, stated in a press release: ‘I am very pleased to be able to confirm that Luca will also stay with us in 2024. It will be the seventh season with the Team and this is a truly significant recognition of trust for all of us and all our partners who support the project. Confirming a growing Team with the support of Ducati has a symbolic meaning. Luca is a hard worker, always precise, focused on details and this is a real plus in today’s MotoGP. Fast, constant and very solid, I think he has collected less than he deserved so far and I hope he can do his best in these remaining races and in the future’.

O conteúdo Official: Luca Marini also stays with the Mooney VR46 Racing Team in 2024 aparece primeiro em Motorcycle Sports.