Will Valentino Rossi’s Mooney VR46 team move to Yamaha? “But we’re interested in competitive bikes…”

Yamaha, whose 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Fabio Quartararo won the MotoGP championship in 2021, will field only two bikes on the 2023 grid after losing their RNF satellite team t🧔oꦛ Aprilia.
They hope a call to Rossi, whose legendary status🌞 is synonymous with his heyday at Yamaha, could result in his VR46 squad switching allegiance from their current Ducati home.
“For us it is a great honour that Yamaha is pushing to have us, and we are very pleased,” said team manager Ucci🍸o Sa🌸lucci.
“But we have a contract with Ducati until the end of next year and we wilဣl respect it.
“In the future, who knows? But we are interested in having competi꧑tive bikes.
“I🐟🍃f Yamaha, after 2024, have strong bikes then we are open to anything.”
The Mooney VR46 team will again field exciting young duo 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Marco Bezzecchi and 168澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果历史:Luca Marini this season.
“From the middle of the championshi💛p we were strong with both rid🧜ers,” Salucci reflected on last year.
“Iꦆn the be🐲ginning, Luca suffered more but if there is a fault, it was ours. We did not yet have the situation in hand and managing a factory bike was difficult.
“Then the team worked well - Bezzecchi got on the podium🃏 and won Rookie of𒐪 the Year, Luca had two fourth-place finishes.
“We fought for the positions thatꦬ matter and, as I always tell my boys, that’s the the most important thing. You have to be protagonists.”

This season, Bezzecchi and Marini will profit from using a 2022-spec Desmose🍷dici - the bike that🅰 Francesco Bagnaia became champion with.
“We made this choice because it is right to stay with a bike that we knew, not to risk like we did ཧlast year,” Salucci said.
“At the beginning of the season I hope it will givꦓe us some advantages.
“Then from mid-season, maybe even earlier, the official teams will🐻 grow and it will ඣnot be easy for us.”
So, must there be hope that Be🎃zzecchi or Marini could trouble the top names at the front of the g♕rid?
“I𒁏t is normal and right that we have more exp𓆏ectations,” Salucci said. “We have more expectations internally too.
“Our riders are fast, they have mor𓃲e experience a♑nd I expect more, even if it is never easy.”
🎃He said their hope is: “To try and fight in every race for a top-five position, to get on the podium and even to win some races.”
Salucci said about the prospect of Sprint races: “In꧒itially I was worried. I look at it from a practical side and we had to regroup.
“Carlo Casabianca, a trainer from the academy, has studied a different prepar๊ation for each riders ๊so they are more explosive and we have more fuel.
“Mentally, it won’t be easy to manage two races at the weekendඣ. But as a show, it🐭 will be good for the fans.”

James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a dec🎉ade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.