until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League
Valentino Rossi’s Team VR46 squad has revealed the colours that Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi’s MotoGP Ducatis will sport in 2022 as well as the Moto2 effort of Niccolo Antonelli and Celestino Vietti.
Eventually revealed after the most-drawn out team launch of the season (despite stiff competition from others pn that front!) in an event featuring a theatre and an orchestra (also recurring themes in 2022 MotoGP team presentations), the bikes will sport a two-tone yellow colour scheme on a rather unusual grey background that creates a retro look.
The launch also featured a brief appearance from Rossi himself, the first time in the VR46 team’s history that he has joined in the team’s official presentation.
“It’s a bit like closing a circle,” said the recently-retired nine-time world champion, “but it’s also nice to start another beautiful story in MotoGP.
“The bikes are very beautiful, and then let’s understand what the track tells us.”
Rossi has played a limited role in the team since its inauguration and instead delegated day to day management to best friend Uccio Salucci.
It remains to be seen if Rossi will play a bigger role in 2022 now that he has retired from MotoGP – but his presence at the presentation hints that hie might not be entirely a stranger from the paddock.
The new livery marks a big departure from the squad’s previous paint scheme, as nearly 10 years of Sky Italia backing comes to an end.
The bikes have sported the Team Sky branding since their debut season in the Moto3 class in 2014, winning the 2018 Moto2 title with Pecco Bagnaia, but Sky has stepped down for 2022 after only one year of premier class sponsorship with Marini last year.
After the initial suggestion that Rossi’s team would be sponsored by Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco, VR46’s title backer is instead Mooney: an online financial transaction processing firm that, despite being new to the world of MotoGP, has behind the scenes links to the paddock.
It’s partly owned by Italian energy company Enel, a title sponsor of the MotoE World Cup since its inauguration. And Enel purchased its shares in Mooney from private investment fund CVC Capital Partners, itself a former owner of the MotoGP championship as a whole.
