This year, the VR46 Riders Academy will have several of its trained riders in top MotoGP teams and bikes – most of them with Ducati. Luca Marini is moving to Repsol Honda, which has been less competitive in recent seasons, but Valentino Rossi believes that his brother will have fast equipment at his disposal.
Il Dottore told Sky Sport Italia: ‘The year 2024 promises to be beautiful. Our riders, or rather, the ones from the Academy, will all have very competitive bikes. Pecco [Bagnaia] is the world champion and will ride for the factory team, Morbidelli will be on an official Ducati with the Pramac team. [Marco] Bez[zecchi] will compete in VR46 colors, and then there’s Marini, who will compete with Honda’.
It’s worth noting that in addition to Bagnaia being a two-time champion, last year Bezzecchi finished third in the championship with two victories. Morbidelli was the runner-up in the world in 2020 but has had more challenging seasons with Yamaha and now makes the switch to Pramac – the world champion team.