VR46 Racing Team

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VR46 Racing Team
2024 nameMotoGP:
Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team
BaseTavullia, Italy
PrincipalOwner:
Valentino Rossi
Team Manager:
Pablo Nieto
Rider(s)MotoGP:
49. Fabio Di Giannantonio
72. Marco Bezzecchi
MotorcycleMotoGP:
Ducati Desmosedici
TyresMotoGP:
Michelin
Riders' ChampionshipsMoto2:
2018: Francesco Bagnaia
Teams' ChampionshipsMoto2:
2020

The VR46 Racing Team is a motorcycle racing team owned by Valentino Rossi and based in Tavullia (Marche, Italy). The team enters Grand Prix motorcycle racing in the MotoGP category with Ducati motorcycles chassis, under the name Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. The team manager is the former road racer Pablo Nieto.

The team has to date collected 30 race wins (9 in Moto3, 19 in Moto2 and 2 in MotoGP), one riders' championship (with Francesco Bagnaia in Moto2 in 2018), and one teams' championship (Moto2 in 2020).

History[edit]

Moto3[edit]

The team was founded in 2014 by the nine time world champion Valentino Rossi and entered the Moto3 World Championship as Sky Racing Team VR46, with the goal of promoting young Italian talent in response to the massive influx of Spanish riders in Grand Prix racing since the turn of the century. In the team's first year they choose Romano Fenati and Francesco Bagnaia as riders with Rossi's former Cagiva teammate Vittoriano Guareschi as team manager.[1] It was an up and down season for Fenati, as he scored four podiums in the first six races and ultimately recorded four wins during the season. However, inconsistent results ultimately left him in 5th position in the championship with 176 points. Bagnaia finished top 10 five times during the first seven races with a 4th-place finish at Le Mans as his best result, where he also set the fastest lap of the race. Bagnaia missed the races at Assen and Sachsenring due to injury. After scoring 42 points in the first 7 races of the campaign, Bagnaia slumped badly during the second part of the season, only finishing in the points twice of the last nine races, clearly affected by his injury. He finished the season in 16th position with 50 points.

In 2015, Andrea Migno replaced Bagnaia and Guareschi was replaced by Pablo Nieto, Alessio ‘Uccio’ Salucci and Carlo Alberto Tebaldi.[2][3] The 2015 season was also an under-performance for Fenati. Though he maintained some consistency finishing in the top five in eight races – including a victory at Le Mans. Poor qualifying positions for Fenati resulted in the loss of vital points, and he finished the season with 176 points – as he did in 2014 – but placed one position higher in the standings. Migno finished the season in 19th with 35 points.

In 2016, both Fenati and Migno were confirmed and a third bike was given to Nicolò Bulega, but Fenati was fired after ten races and replaced by Lorenzo Dalla Porta. Fenati started the 2016 season with a pole position at Qatar, however he only managed 4th in the race. He finished in 20th in Argentina, before his first win of the season in the United States. He was seventh at Jerez, before a second-place finish at Le Mans, losing out to Brad Binder by 0.099 seconds. Fenati qualified on pole at Mugello, but failed to finish the race. He was fourth in both Catalunya and Netherlands, before a pointless 18 position in Germany. Fenati was dropped by Sky Racing VR46 in Austria as a disciplinary action for a disagreement with Uccio Salucci, team manager and close friend of Rossi. On 16 August, the VR46 team terminated their contract with Romano for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, stating behavioural issues in conflict with team policy as the reason behind the split.

Bulega started the season with sixth place at Qatar. At his fifth race in Moto3, Bulega achieved his first Grand Prix podium at Jerez with 2nd-place finish having started from pole position, which was his first pole position in Grand Prix. Bulega's first fastest lap came at the British Grand Prix in the last lap. Followed by a crash in Aragon, On his birthday Bulega finished the Japanese grand Prix at fourth place and set the fastest lap. But after the third place holder Hiroki Ono was disqualified Bulega was awarded third place. Both in Australia and Malaysia Bulega crashed in the opening lap. His last three crashes in Aragon, Australia and Malaysia was because of the fellow riders. Despite qualifying 4th, Bulega started the final race at Valencia in 16th place due to a twelve-place grid penalty and finished the race in 17th, losing the Rookie of the Year title to Joan Mir. Bulega finished the championship in 7th place with 129 points. Migno achieved two 3rd place finishes (Assen and Valencia) and finished the season in 17th placeoverall with 63 points.

Both Migno and Bulega were retained for the 2017 season. In a year in which previous Rookie of the Year title rival Joan Mir won the Moto3 championship, Bulega struggled to follow up his debut season. Beluga'S difficulties included bad qualifying strategies and poor race starts (his height being a primary factor). His best result on the year was a 4th place finish in Germany, one of the few times he was able to qualify on the top six, and a handful of 5th places, including one in his "home" race in the San Marino race. He finished the disappointing year in just 12th place, with 81 points. Migno won his home Grand Prix in Mugello, and finished the season in 9th place with 118 points.

In 2018, Bulega was initially confirmed (then replaced by Celestino Vietti due to injury) and Dennis Foggia was named as second rider. Bulega's first five 2018 races were even worse than the previous year's. He retired in the first four races and finished only on the fifth race, with a 17th place in Spain, being one of the two regular drivers to never score points in the first five races of the year. Both Vietti and Foggia achieved a third place as best result of the season.

In 2019, Vietti and Foggia were confirmed as regular riders. Vietti achieved three podiums (Spain, Catalonia and Japan), one pole and one fastest lap, finishing the season 6th with 135 points. Foggia reached a third place in Aragon as best result and a fastest lap in Netherland, finishing the season 12th with 97 points.

Andrea Migno returned to the squad to partner Vietti for 2020. With two race wins and four podiums for Vietti and regular points-scoring finishes for Migno, the team finished 3rd in the teams' championship.

The VR46 team left the Moto3 class after 2020, citing 'a lack of Italian talent' available between many Italian Moto3 teams (such as Gresini, Sic58, Snipers, and Max Racing), and an agreement with Esponsorama Racing which would see Sky VR46 enter the MotoGP class with the Spanish team and Esponsorama to expand their Moto3 operations with KTM machinery made available by VR46's departure.[4][5]

Moto2[edit]

In 2017, the team decided to take part in the Moto2 class also and selected Bagnaia and Stefano Manzi as riders. In just his fourth-ever Moto2 race at Jerez, Bagnaia finished 2nd. He finished 2nd in the next race as well at Le Mans, after having qualified in 2nd place and missing pole position to Thomas Lüthi by just 0.026 seconds. Bagnaia took a third podium at Sachsenring, finishing 3rd behind Franco Morbidelli who won the race and Miguel Oliveira who came in second. At Misano, Bagnaia originally finished the race 4th behind Dominique Aegerter, Thomas Lüthi, and Hafizh Syahrin - however Aegerter was later disqualified, promoting Bagnaia to his fourth podium of the season. He was crowned Moto2 Rookie of the year after the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, and finished his rookie season with 174 points to place 5th in the Moto2 Championship, scoring points in 16 of the 18 races. Manzi finished the season in 25th place with 14 points.

In 2018, Bagnaia was confirmed to continue with the team and Luca Marini, Rossi's half-brother, was selected as second rider. Bagnaia opened the season with a win in Qatar, having led the race from start to finish. Bagnaia took a second win in Austin after a hard fight with Álex Márquez, winning the race with a gap of 2.4 seconds and also setting the fastest lap of the race. At Jerez, Bagnaia finished 3rd behind Lorenzo Baldassarri and Miguel Oliveira, holding his starting grid position. Bagnaia took his first pole position in Moto2 at Le Mans, like the race in Qatar he led from start to finish. The win was also his third podium at Le Mans since 2015. Bagnaia took a fourth win at Assen, again the race from pole position and leading the entire race. After qualifying 3rd on the grid in Sachsenring, Bagnaia finished the race in 12th place, having been forced outside of the track after Mattia Pasini fell in front of him in the last corner on the second lap. Despite being down to 26th position, Bagnaia still made up fourteen places, including overtaking Álex Márquez on the final lap in the last corner. At Brno, Bagnaia finished third and lost the championship lead to Oliveira. He retook the championship lead at Austria, winning his fifth race of the season. Bagnaia won his sixth race of the season at Misano from pole position. He took a fifth-straight podium at Buriram, winning the race with his teammate Luca Marini in second place. He took his eighth and final win of the season at Motegi, after Fabio Quartararo (who initially won the race) was disqualified due to low tyre pressure. After finishing 3rd at Sepang,Bagnaia was crowned Moto2 World Champion with his twelfth podium of the season. Marini achieved his first podium in Germany and his first victory in Malaysia, concluding the season in 7th place with 147 points. The VR46 team finished the teams' championship in 2nd place.

In 2019, Marini was confirmed for another season and Nicolò Bulega was selected as second rider. Marini won two races (Thailand and Japan), achieved a second place (Italy), a third place (Netherlands), a pole position (Japan) and a fastest lap (Austria), finishing the season 6th with 190 points. Bulega finished 17th with 48 points, with a 7th place finish as his best result of the season.

For 2020, Marini was partnered with Marco Bezzecchi. With strong performances from both riders (three race wins and six podiums for Marini, two race wins and seven podiums for Bezzecchi), VR46 clinched their first teams' championship with Marini and Bezzecchi finishing 2nd and 4th respectively in the riders' championship.

In 2021, Bezzecchi was joined by Celestino Vietti coming from the Moto3 team. With one race win and seven podiums from Bezzecchi and regular points finishes from Vietti, VR46 achieved 3rd place in the teams' championship.

Vietti was paired with Niccolò Antonelli for 2022.[6] Vietti took his first Moto2 class win at the season opener in Qatar.[7]

From 2023, Fantic will be its own team at the expense of the VR46 entry, The partnership will be already operational from the race at Silverstone 2022, where the Fantic brand appeared on the motorcycles of Celestino Vietti Ramus and Niccolò Antonelli.[8]

MotoGP[edit]

In 2021, Luca Marini made his MotoGP debut, as VR46 and Esponsorama Racing came to an agreement where Esponsorama would organize the racing operations for an entry under the Italian flag and the Sky VR46 name and livery.[4][5][9]

Beginning in 2022, the VR46 team entered the MotoGP championship in their own right, taking over the grid slots from Esponsorama Racing who left the premier class after 10 seasons.[10][11] The team has signed a contract with Ducati for the use of their satellite machinery until at least the end of 2024.[12] Title sponsorship of the team will be fulfilled by the Mooney Group,[13] an Italian fintech joint venture between energy concern Enel and banking group Intesa Sanpaolo.[14] The team will make their debut in the class with riders Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi.[15] In this season, Luca Marini riding with a Ducati Desmosedici GP22 bike, while Marco Bezzecchi riding with a Ducati Desmosedici GP21 bike.

For the 2023 season, the team continued with both Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi. They will both use the Ducati Desmosedici GP22 citing having more data by using a year old bike is useful. Bezzecchi managed to fight for the championship until late in the season where injuries and an older bike derail his title run. On the 14th of October, the team announced Indonesian lubricant brand Pertamina as their new title sponsor from 2024.[16] For 2024 Luca Marini depart the team to join HRC Repsol Honda[17] and will be replaced by Fabio Di Giannantonio.[18]

Grand Prix motorcycle results[edit]

As of 24 June 2023
Class Seasons 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Pole position Fastest Lap 1–2 finishes Riders World Championship Teams World Championship
Moto3 2014-2020 9 5 12 6 14 0 0 0
Moto2 2017-2022 19 12 15 14 9 2 1 (2018) 1 (2020)
MotoGP 2022- 3 3 2 3 4 0 0 0
Total 2014- 31 20 29 22 25 2 1 1

Moto3[edit]

Key
Regular rider
Wildcard rider
Replacement rider

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Season Machine No Rider 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 R.C. Points T.C. Points
2014 KTM RC250GP 5 Italy Romano Fenati QAT
12
AME
2
ARG
1
SPA
1
FRA
Ret
ITA
1
CAT
5
NED
18
GER
Ret
IND
2
CZE
11
GBR
16
RSM
11
ARA
1
JPN
7
AUS
Ret
MAL
Ret
VAL
14
5th 176 - -
21 Italy Francesco Bagnaia QAT
10
AME
7
ARG
Ret
SPA
8
FRA
4
ITA
Ret
CAT
10
NED
DNS
GER
DNS
IND
Ret
CZE
17
GBR
21
RSM
Ret
ARA
24
JPN
13
AUS
11
MAL
Ret
VAL
16
16th 50
2015 KTM RC250GP 5 Italy Romano Fenati QAT
Ret
AME
8
ARG
8
SPA
6
FRA
1
ITA
3
CAT
8
NED
5
GER
4
IND
4
CZE
6
GBR
12
RSM
4
ARA
3
JPN
28
AUS
6
MAL
5
VAL
Ret
4th 176 - -
16 Italy Andrea Migno QAT
24
AME
12
ARG
17
SPA
21
FRA
9
ITA
15
CAT
28
NED
12
GER
21
IND
20
CZE
13
GBR
15
RSM
13
ARA
9
JPN
20
AUS
Ret
MAL
24
VAL
11
19th 35
8 Italy Nicolò Bulega VAL
12
31st 4
2016 KTM RC250GP 5 Italy Romano Fenati QAT
4
ARG
20
AME
1
SPA
7
FRA
2
ITA
Ret
CAT
4
NED
4
GER
18
AUT
DNS
10th 93 - -
16 Italy Andrea Migno QAT
17
AME
29
ARG
15
SPA
11
FRA
7
ITA
10
CAT
18
NED
3
GER
Ret
AUT
25
CZE
12
GBR
Ret
RSM
15
ARA
11
JPN
24
AUS
Ret
MAL
Ret
VAL
3
17th 63
8 Italy Nicolò Bulega QAT
6
ARG
18
AME
10
SPA
2
FRA
5
ITA
8
CAT
5
NED
7
GER
Ret
AUT
9
CZE
9
GBR
5
RSM
4
ARA
Ret
JPN
3
AUS
Ret
MAL
Ret
VAL
17
7th 129
48 Italy Lorenzo Dalla Porta GBR
18
RSM
17
ARA
25
JPN
11
AUS
19
MAL
16
VAL
Ret
30th 12
2017 KTM RC250GP 8 Italy Nicolò Bulega QAT
14
ARG
16
AME
5
SPA
7
FRA
17
ITA
10
CAT
9
NED
10
GER
4
CZE
23
AUT
11
GBR
20
RSM
5
ARA
14
JPN
12
AUS
11
MAL
Ret
VAL
DNS
12th 81 - -
16 Italy Andrea Migno QAT
6
ARG
5
AME
12
SPA
6
FRA
8
ITA
1
CAT
8
NED
14
GER
16
CZE
11
AUT
21
GBR
8
RSM
9
ARA
11
JPN
13
AUS
14
MAL
6
VAL
16
9th 118
10 Italy Dennis Foggia ARA
8
VAL
7
24th 19
2018 KTM RC250GP 8 Italy Nicolò Bulega QAT
Ret
ARG
Ret
AME
Ret
SPA
17
FRA
Ret
ITA
21
CAT
Ret
NED
11
GER
14
CZE
19
AUT
23
GBR
C
RSM
Ret
ARA
14
THA
7
26th 18 9th 97
10 Italy Dennis Foggia QAT
16
ARG
Ret
AME
16
SPA
Ret
FRA
14
ITA
Ret
CAT
9
NED
12
GER
19
CZE
12
AUT
26
GBR
C
RSM
7
ARA
25
THA
3
JPN
4
AUS
Ret
MAL
Ret
VAL
Ret
19th 55
13 Italy Celestino Vietti JPN
14
AUS
3
MAL
Ret
VAL
10
25th 24
2019 KTM RC250GP 7 Italy Dennis Foggia QAT
Ret
ARG
8
AME
10
SPA
16
FRA
Ret
ITA
5
CAT
5
NED
9
GER
Ret
CZE
15
AUT
14
GBR
8
RSM
5
ARA
3
THA
5
JPN
23
AUS
11
MAL
19
VAL
DNS
12th 97 4th 232
13 Italy Celestino Vietti QAT
5
ARG
14
AME
9
SPA
3
FRA
7
ITA
9
CAT
3
NED
Ret
GER
Ret
CZE
19
AUT
4
GBR
9
RSM
Ret
ARA
14
THA
6
JPN
3
AUS
Ret
MAL
5
VAL
8
6th 135
20 San Marino Elia Bartolini RSM
15
34th 1
2020 KTM RC250GP 13 Italy Celestino Vietti QAT
28
SPA
5
AND
3
CZE
13
AUT
5
STY
1
RSM
Ret
EMI
2
CAT
8
FRA
1
ARA
9
TER
5
EUR
23
VAL
24
POR
7
5th 146 3rd 206
16 Italy Andrea Migno QAT
16
SPA
4
AND
22
CZE
14
AUT
12
STY
13
RSM
10
EMI
8
CAT
Ret
FRA
5
ARA
Ret
TER
18
EUR
12
VAL
7
POR
21
15th 60

Moto2[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Season Machine No Rider 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 R.C. Points T.C. Points
2017 Kalex Moto2 42 Italy Francesco Bagnaia QAT
12
ARG
7
AME
16
SPA
2
FRA
2
ITA
22
CAT
13
NED
10
GER
3
CZE
7
AUT
4
GBR
5
RSM
3
ARA
10
JPN
4
AUS
12
MAL
5
VAL
4
5th 174 - -
62 Italy Stefano Manzi QAT
29
ARG
23
AME
Ret
SPA
25
FRA
Ret
ITA
Ret
CAT
Ret
NED
20
GER
15
CZE
21
AUT
Ret
GBR
7
RSM
Ret
ARA
15
JPN
26
AUS
13
MAL
Ret
VAL
Ret
25th 14
2018 Kalex Moto2 42 Italy Francesco Bagnaia QAT
1
ARG
9
AME
1
SPA
3
FRA
1
ITA
4
CAT
8
NED
1
GER
12
CZE
3
AUT
1
GBR
C
RSM
1
ARA
2
THA
1
JPN
1
AUS
12
MAL
3
VAL
14
1st 306 2nd 453
10 Italy Luca Marini QAT
9
ARG
16
AME
13
SPA
Ret
FRA
Ret
ITA
7
CAT
17
NED
8
GER
3
CZE
2
AUT
3
GBR
C
RSM
Ret
ARA
11
THA
2
JPN
9
AUS
5
MAL
1
VAL
Ret
7th 147
2019 Kalex Moto2 11 Italy Nicolò Bulega QAT
Ret
ARG
Ret
AME SPA
9
FRA
10
ITA
Ret
CAT
13
NED
Ret
GER
18
CZE
7
AUT
13
GBR
20
RSM
Ret
ARA
12
THA
8
JPN
Ret
AUS
12
MAL
12
VAL
22
17th 48 6th 238
10 Italy Luca Marini QAT
8
ARG
7
AME
6
SPA
8
FRA
13
ITA
2
CAT
6
NED
3
GER
10
CZE
5
AUT
Ret
GBR
9
RSM
11
ARA
4
THA
1
JPN
1
AUS
Ret
MAL
10
VAL
8
6th 190
2020 Kalex Moto2 10 Italy Luca Marini QAT
Ret
SPA
1
AND
2
CZE
4
AUT
2
STY
7
RSM
1
EMI
4
CAT
1
FRA
17
ARA
Ret
TER
11
EUR
6
VAL
5
POR
2
2nd 196 1st 380
72 Italy Marco Bezzecchi QAT
12
SPA
Ret
AND
3
CZE
6
AUT
6
STY
1
RSM
2
EMI
2
CAT
7
FRA
3
ARA
Ret
TER
Ret
EUR
1
VAL
3
POR
4
4th 184
2021 Kalex Moto2 13 Italy Celestino Vietti QAT
12
DOH
7
POR
Ret
SPA
18
FRA
19
ITA
16
CAT
14
GER
15
NED
10
STY
6
AUT
6
GBR
12
ARA
15
RSM
10
AME
Ret
EMI
4
ALR
6
VAL
4
12th 89 3rd 303
72 Italy Marco Bezzecchi QAT
4
DOH
4
POR
6
SPA
2
FRA
3
ITA
3
CAT
4
GER
3
NED
5
STY
1
AUT
10
GBR
2
ARA
Ret
RSM
5
AME
3
EMI
Ret
ALR
8
VAL
20
3rd 214
2022 Kalex Moto2 13 Italy Celestino Vietti QAT
1
INA
2
ARG
1
AME
Ret
POR
2
SPA
6
FRA
8
ITA
Ret
CAT
1
GER
Ret
NED
4
GBR
6
AUT
Ret
RSM
Ret
ARA
10
JPN
Ret
THA
10
AUS
Ret
MAL
Ret
VAL
Ret
7th 165 8th 165
28 Italy Niccolò Antonelli QAT
26
INA
25
ARG
Ret
AME
Ret
POR
Ret
SPA
23
FRA
Ret
ITA
18
CAT
19
GER
Ret
NED
Ret
GBR
19
AUT
16
RSM
Ret
ARA
20
JPN
Ret
THA
22
AUS
Ret
MAL
21
VAL
Ret
36th 0

MotoGP[edit]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Season Machine No Rider 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 R.C. Points T.C. Points M.C. Points
2022 Ducati Desmosedici 10 Italy Luca Marini QAT
13
INA
14
ARG
11
AME
17
POR
12
SPA
16
FRA
9
ITA
6
CAT
6
GER
5
NED
17
GBR
12
AUT
4
RSM
4
ARA
7
JPN
6
THA
23
AUS
6
MAL
Ret
VAL
7
12th 120 8th 231 1st 448
72 Italy Marco Bezzecchi QAT
Ret
INA
20
ARG
9
AME
Ret
POR
15
SPA
9
FRA
12
ITA
5
CAT
Ret
GER
11
NED
2
GBR
10
AUT
9
RSM
17
ARA
10
JPN
10
THA
16
AUS
4
MAL
4
VAL
11
14th 111
2023 Ducati Desmosedici 10 Italy Luca Marini POR
Ret
ARG
83
AME
27
SPA
6
FRA
Ret4
ITA
45
GER
54
NED
7
GBR
7
AUT
4
CAT
11
RSM
97
IND
DNS
JPN
INA
RetP 2
AUS
12
THA
73
MAL
109
QAT
33
VAL
9
8th 201 3rd 530 1st 700
72 Italy Marco Bezzecchi POR
3
ARG
12 F
AME
66
SPA
Ret9
FRA
17 F
ITA
82
GER
47
NED
2P 1
GBR
RetP 2
AUT
3
CAT
128
RSM
22
IND
1P 5 F
JPN
46
INA
53
AUS
6
THA
46 F
MAL
67
QAT
13
VAL
Ret7
3rd 329

List of Grand Prix winners[edit]

No. Name Seasons Wins Podiums
1 Italy Francesco Bagnaia 2014, 2017–2018 8 16
2 Italy Marco Bezzecchi 2020–present 6 22
3 Italy Luca Marini 2018–2023 6 17
4 Italy Romano Fenati 2014–2016 6 11
5 Italy Celestino Vietti 2018–2022 4 11
6 Italy Andrea Migno 2015–2017, 2020 1 3

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Guareschi - A 'father' to Fenati and Bagnaia". motogp.com. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Management changes at Sky Racing Team VR46". motogp.com. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Valentino Rossi launches the 2015 Sky Racing Team VR46 and talks about the upcoming MotoGP season". cycleworld.com. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  4. ^ a b Pezzoni, Marco (1 December 2020). "Moto3, Sky Racing Team: from stellar debut to closure". MotoSprint. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Wiesinger, Günther (2 November 2020). "Überraschung: SKY VR46 steigt aus der Moto3-WM aus / Moto3 - SPEEDWEEK.COM". SpeedWeek.com (in German). Retrieved 2 January 2022.
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