Mooney VR46 hopeful of Marco Bezzecchi promotion to factory Ducati team, open to signing “other MotoGP riders”

Mooney VR46 Ducati team director Alessio Salucci has confirmed MotoGP riders outside of the VR46 academy will be looked at as possible replacement for when Marco Bezzecchi eventually secures a full factory seat.
Marco Bezzecchi Ducati MotoGP Misano 2023
Marco Bezzecchi Ducati MotoGP Misano 2023

One of the biggest moves in th𒆙e 2024 rider market was involving Bezzecchi, as the Vale📖ntino Rossi-owned team managed to convince him to stay.

Bez♎zecchi rejected the chance to join Pramac Ducati which would have meant riding a full factory bike next season.

Instead, that has now gone the way of Franco Morbidelli, who wil♉l join the team from Yamaha alongside double race winner at Misano, Jorge Martin. 

But🦩 although the VR46 team got their wish, Salucci doesn’t want to see Bezzecchi remain with the team long-term.

Speaking to , Salucci said: "I hope that my work (with Bezzecchi) ends. Someone within the team pushed me in this diꦇrection, bu💖t I didn't want to. 

"I preferred just one year becau🐽se I hope that at the end of next season Bℱezzecchi will join the official team and I hope in the official Ducati."

Like Bezzecchi, Luca Marini is also⛦ staying with the team next season which will be his third consecutive year with the team.

Since becoming a MotoGP outfit, the VR46 team have only had riders from their academy, which was typically the case in the lower categories💯🦂 as well.

But Salucci has now admitted they could look elsewhere going 💃forward.

"We are open, because we don't h👍ave any Academy riders [ready for MotoGP]," a🍎dded Salucci. 

"Right now the Academy i෴s working to find young Italian riders and ไwe are close to opening the doors of the Academy to two young riders... very young. Like 13 or 14 years old.

"They're not e﷽ven ready for Moto3𝓰… So, we definitely have to open the doors of our MotoGP team to other riders."

Read More