Valentino Rossi: Ducati is adamant about the deal

No early farewell for Valentino Rossi’s VR46: the words of Paolo Ciabatti

The VR46 team will be tied to Ducati until the end of 2024, as per its contract, and will not leave early a season earlier to make a deal with Yamaha. Sports director Paolo Ciabatti to Speedweek dismissed rumors about Valentino Rossi’s team’s contacts with the Japanese stable, which will lose its satellite team RNF next year, which will adopt Aprilias.

“We have a contract with the VR46 team up to and including 2024,” Ciabatti explained. “I don’t know what will happen after that, but right now we are in the middle of a three-year contract. The team is happy and the VR46 riders are happy with the results they are getting. I understand that it’s not an ideal situation for the championship in the medium to long term, if some manufacturers can’t find a client team… That’s all I can say about Yamaha. They had a customer team and they lost it.”