Since entering MotoGP in 2022, VR46 has been using Ducati motorcycles. The contract with the manufacturer extends until the end of the next season and it is possible that it will not continue – with Yamaha speculated as the main alternative.
Currently there are eight Ducatis in the field, a situation that the manufacturer itself has admitted it does not intend to maintain for much longer. The Desmosedici GP bikes are a guarantee of competitive motorcycles, but for Ducati supplying three teams is not necessarily advantageous from a financial point of view.
Each manufacturer receives three million euros from Dorna for having at least one satellite team. Yamaha is the only manufacturer that has only its factory team, and is making every effort to have a satellite team again in 2025. Director Lin Jarvis has already stated that VR46 could be an option.
With the YZR-M1 being one of the least competitive bikes currently, it is not an attractive option for the team. But there is also a past that connects Valentino Rossi to Yamaha, with a strong relationship between both. In any case, VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto has assured Motorsport.com that the priority is to renew with Ducati.
And what if there was a third option? Pierer Mobility Group will study having a second satellite team in 2025, after GasGas Tech3. One of the projects is to bring back MV Agusta – a brand they now own – in the future, and the Austrians have been exerting strong pressure to have more slots. With one of the existing teams or one created from scratch. However, at this time, the apparently most likely scenarios for VR46 are either to continue with Ducati or to move to Yamaha.
