Rossi hopes half-brother Marini Avintia can ride MotoGP

Johann Zarco will be leaving the Avintia team at the end of the year to move up to either Pramac or the factory Ducati team, with Moto2 title contender Enea Bastianini taking his place.

Tito Rabat currently has a contract with Avintia for 2021 and is known for bringing money to the team through personal sponsors.

However, Avintia is now acting as the official Ducati satellite company, and this year’s results have made it possible to attract sponsors.

Rabat only scored five points in the first seven laps and was struggling with the consequences of the horror leg injury he sustained in an accident at Silverstone in 2018.

It was rumored that Rabat could step down at the end of the year, despite insisting Ducati told him the decision will be his own.

“Paolo [Ciabatti] said that the decision is mine, “said Rabat on the subject in Misano.

“When will I decide? I don’t want to be hot, sometimes things are not what they seem.

Talks about a possible takeover of the Avintia squad by the VR46 team for 2021 have also recently surfaced in the Italian press.

Rossi has ruled out this, but remains the hopeful Moto2 World Championship leader Marini – who rides in the intermediate class for the VR46 team – will be able to move up to MotoGP next year.

“We speak for Luca and hope that Luca can have a chance in MotoGP in 2021, maybe with Avintia, with Ducati,” said Rossi.

“For us [VR46], No [we won’t step up]. 2021, no. At the moment we’re happy in Moto3, Moto2, because that’s our dimension.

“You have to take another step for MotoGP. So it’s not easy.”

Marini says he is “ready” to move to MotoGP next season if the opportunity presents itself, but doesn’t see another Moto2 campaign as a “waste of time”.

“I think I won’t speak to my management until next week because they are trying to focus on this year to focus on this race that is very important to us,” said Marini of the latest comments from the VR46 bearings. I don’t know if another year will be a waste of time.

“Of course the MotoGP level is very high, you have to know a lot of things, learn a lot about the tires, which are so different from our tires.

“Plus electronics are a completely different world. So I’ll be ready to be in MotoGP next year, but I don’t know if there is a place for me. But I hope.”