Valentino Rossi’s Mooney VR46 team has unveiled its livery for its first year as a MotoGP entry in its own right.
Mooney VR46 Ducati MotoGP team, which is owned by nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi, has unveiled the livery for its first season in MotoGP as a single entry.
VR46 Racing marks the final team to reveal its livery as the 2022 MotoGP season gets underway in Qatar next weekend as they enter their maiden premier class campaign after taking over Avinita Racing’s grid space.
The new design combines VR46’s black and fluorescent yellow with title sponsor Mooney’s yellow and dark grey. Orange is also present on the bike. Monster Energy, Bardahl, Cupra, and Flymeto are among the bike’s notable sponsors.
During the official launch of the team Valentino Rossi said: “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%.”
“It is the closing of a circle for me and also 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.”
“We are here thanks to the support of all our partners and I am happy to welcome Mooney: we met this winter at the Ranch, there was an immediate feeling and now we find ourselves here on this stage with these beautiful bikes with our colours.”
Prior to the 2022 season, the team inked a three-year partnership with Ducati, with Luca Marini riding an all-new Desmocedici GP22. On the other hand, his teammate Marco Bezzecchi will ride a GP20.
Marini capped off his pre-season with a third-place finish at the Mandalika test after winning the second day. Meanwhile, at Sepang and Mandalika, Bezzecchi was the fastest rookie.
VR46 declared earlier in 2021 that it would expand into MotoGP in 2022, after previously running teams in Moto3 and Moto2 although Luca Marini’s side of the Avintia garage was handled by VR46 last year.
Tanal Entertainment, a Saudi firm, declared that oil giant Aramco would be the team’s primary sponsor bringing a lot of controversy on the agreement. However, despite VR46’s assurance that it had a deal in place, reports later suggested that no arrangement with VR46 existed, something that was reaffirmed again later in 2021.
Late last year, VR46 confirmed that its title sponsorship would come from Mooney, an Italian financial institution, putting a stop to the Aramco drama.
VR46 has discontinued its Moto3 campaign due to its full-time expansion into MotoGP following the take over of Avintia’s grid spots, which pulled out of MotoGP at the end of last year. However, it will continue with its Moto2 team.
VR46 will also enter Moto2 with a second team, the VR46 Master Camp squad, which will compete alongside Yamaha.
All of the teams have officially revealed their new liveries for the upcoming season, which kicks off on March 6 in Qatar.
