Will Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team continue if his Academy stops producing talent?
168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Marco Bezzecchi and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Luca Marini currently comprise the Mooney VR46 team, while their fellow academy graduate 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Francesco Bagnaia became MotoGP champion last season with Ducati, and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Franco Morbidelli is with Yamaha.
“The boys became big and str🧔ong,” Uccio Salucci said last year when explaining why Rossi’s academy would shift focus to its elite riders rather than bringing in new starlets.
But the Mooney VR46 team, a Ducati satellite team who Yamaha have exp♈ressed an interest in acquiring, are in part on the MotoGP grid to develop riders like Bezzecchi and Marini for a factory seat.
“If they went to another𓃲 team it could jus🗹t be a factory team, or they would stay with us, so our goal is achieved,” team manager Salucci said ahead of the 2023 season.
“It would be good for them and for us - our goal🐻 as a satellite teওam would be achieved.”
So what, then, if Bezzecchi and Marini do earn call-ups?🌃 With🍸 no fresh talent being developed in the VR46 Academy, what would happen to Rossi’s MotoGP team?
“We hope that Celeꦆstino Vietti deserves to get into MotoGP,” Salucc💟i said. “In my opinion he will succeed, he will be our next candidate.”
Vietti, 21, is ent🔯ering his second year in Moto2 after finishing seventh last season. He previously partnered with Bezzecc👍hi in Moto2.
“Then, when there are no more acad𒀰emy riders, we will look around,” Salucci said.
“The team will move forwards.”
It means if Rossi’s MotoGP team is to thrive in the future, they ma꧂y have to look outside of Italy for ambitious and talented riders - a💯 major break in tradition for VR46 so far.
Salucci paid tribute to his two riders this season: “Marco is instinctive. Heꦯ slams the settings and the tyres and always gives 110%♒.
“Luca takes longe🍬r to put things together but, when he succeeds, he’s a machine. I’ve known him since he was in his mother’s belly but this characteristic impre🐼ssed me from when he was in Moto2.
“It took time to fix everything bu🍬t then he understood, and kept doing it.
“Bezzecchi should sometimes be calmer. In today’s MotoGP, talent is ൩not enough. Sometimes he’s in too much of a hurry, he goes fast but does not 𝓡collect everything that he should.
“Sometimes Marini gets nervous and loses concentration on things that don’t deserve it, like a suit that’s a little too tight or a tyre that doesn’t work. We have to calm him down.ℱ”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from America﷽n sports, to football, to F1.
