Following the heightened speculation in recent hours, the CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team issued a statement clarifying that it won’t be exiting or changing ownership in MotoGP. Rumors emerged this Saturday suggesting an imminent acquisition by Trackhouse Racing.
In a press release, the team clarified the situation: ‘CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team has a contract for participation in the MotoGP Championships that is valid until 2026 which was assigned from Sepang Racing Team. This contract has very clear terms and conditions and until now we have not even been notified about a breach of a contractual obligation. Even more, we did not receive a termination notice of this contract. Moreover, RNF has a valid contract with Aprilia and we did not receive a notice to terminate this contract as well’.
The statement also denies alleged debts and delays in payments to Aprilia and other suppliers: ‘There are no debts towards Aprilia and all amounts are settled since earlier this year. Also, in addition to what was in the contract, we have agreed to additional mechanics and carried out with fulfilling the extra costs. […]. The CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team does not have any debts or disputes with its suppliers and all the activity is carried out according to the business plan and according to the contractual terms with the suppliers’.
Regarding the alleged change of ownership, RNF clarified that while the possibility existed, it was rejected: ‘It’s true that RNF had received an offer for the place on the grid, in Madrid at DORNA Office, however this offer was rejected officially more than 2 weeks ago and since then no other negotiation was initiated. […]. The RNF Team is still owned 60% by CDT SPORTS AND MEDIA SRL and 40% by Razlan Razali. The company RNF Racing Ltd. is subject to an internal audit by the majority shareholder (CDT) to review the internal processes and the activity of the employees’.
On the other hand, the team confirmed there would be changes in management, which were already planned: ‘The changes in the management of the team will come with certainty as this was a transition year and after the audit we will put into place optimization processes of the human resources in order to implement the strategy with tactics to obtain performance in the team. The decision for Razlan Razali not to be part of the RNF Team management was not only from yesterday, but was taken more than 1 month ago, due the pressure made by the shareholders following poor performance and financial decisions’.