VR46 REVEALS NEW BIKES

The newly rebranded Mooney VR46 Racing Team has revealed its bikes that will contest the 2022 MotoGP World Championship season, showing off a striking new colour scheme.

Unveiled at the historic Rossini Theatre in Pesaro, Italy, the new machines are adorned in a livery that mixes the fluorescent yellow and black of the VR46 with the ochre yellow and dark grey of Mooney.

This season marks the first time that VR46 will run a MotoGP team on its own – VR46 had a presence in the championship last year but operated in a partnership with the Avintia team.

Homegrown heroes Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi will ride for Mooney VR46 this coming season, the latter stepping up the top tier of motorcycle racing for the first time.

“It will be a very important season for me and the whole Mooney VR46 Racing Team: I have begun to become familiar with the new Ducati GP22 bike and to understand its potential in the last tests,” Marini said.

“The feelings are more than positive, the goal is to be able to consistently stay in the top group, fighting for the Top 5 and always stay in the Top 10.

“I would like to arrive on the podium then, I know it’s a very ambitious goal, but I have faith in my crew.

“The atmosphere is great, we had fun and I had a good time. I also really like the colours of the bike, they have always been those of the VR46.”

Celestino Vietti and Niccolo Antonelli will represent the team in the second-tier Moto2 Championship.

Mooney VR46 Racing Team Owner Valentino Rossi, who is also Marini’s half-brother, was excited to begin a new chapter in the VR46 story.

“It has been a long way since Moto3, but now we are ready to make our debut in MotoGP with a VR46 team and four young riders who I know will give their 100%,” Rossi said.

“It is the closing of a circle for me and for all the people who have worked with so much passion on this project over the years. At the same time, it is a great debut and the beginning of a new chapter of this beautiful story in MotoGP.

“Now we find ourselves here on this stage with these beautiful bikes with our colours.”

The 2022 MotoGP season kicks off in Qatar on March 6.

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