Rossi’s team finds replacement title sponsor for MotoGP 2022

Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Ducati MotoGP team has finally put the fiasco of its previously announced Saudi sponsorship deal behind by announcing a new title partner in the form of Italian proximity banking firm Mooney, whose MotoGP and Moto2 efforts are officially Mooney become VR46 Racing Team for 2022.

Rossi’s ties to Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud were first revealed at the Spanish Grand Prix in May. Bike partnership with Esponsorama Racing for a complete two-rider setup.

However, the release immediately raised question marks as The Race received calls from a public relations firm that was working with Aramco denying any knowledge of the deal at the time.

Marco Bezzecchi VR46 Ducati MotoGP

Further confusion followed at the Dutch TT in June when Talal Al-Marri, CEO of Aramco Overseas, was present from the Pramac Ducati team rather than VR46.

When asked about his company’s alleged support for VR46, he simply replied, “Do you know how many princes we have in Saudi Arabia?”

Since then, there has been increasing speculation about the fate of the partnership, with the team officially announced at the end of the MotoGP 2021 season without a title sponsor.

However, with Rossi’s name still meaningful in his native Italy after retiring from the sport last month, there was never any doubt about the position of Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi on the starting line-up.

The team has confirmed that more information on the details of the sponsorship agreement will be announced early next year.

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