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Mooney VR46 Racing Team Unleashed!

Published On:: 25/02/2022

One of the most hotly anticipated teams - Mooney VR46 Racing - have finally ripped the covers off their Ducati and Kalex machines, and stood up ready to be counted in the 2022 MotoGP™ and Moto2™ championships.

One of the most hotly anticipated teams - Mooney VR46 Racing - have finally ripped the covers off their Ducati and Kalex machines, and stood up ready to be counted in the 2022 MotoGP™ and Moto2™ championships.

Under the atmospheric lights of the Rossini theater in Pesaro, Italy, Luca Marini, Marco Bezzecchi (MotoGP), together with Celestino Vietti and Niccolo Antonelli (Moto2); the newly formed squad are ready to take on a historic season of racing under the watchful eye of team owner and motorcycle Grand Prix racing GOAT, Valentino Rossi. Keep scrolling to check out what they had to say…

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Valentino Rossi, Mooney VR46 Racing Team Owner: “It has been a long way since Moto3, but now we are ready to make our debut in MotoGP with a VR46 team and four young riders who I know will give their 100%. It is the closing of a circle for me and also for all the people who have worked with so much passion on this project over the years. At the same time it is a great debut and the beginning of a new chapter of this beautiful story in MotoGP. We are here thanks to the support of all our partners and I am happy to welcome Mooney: we met this winter at the Ranch, there was an immediate feeling and now we find ourselves here on this stage with these beautiful bikes with our colours.”

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Luca Marini: “It will be a very important season for me and the whole Mooney VR46 Racing Team: I have begun to become familiar with the new Ducati GP22 bike and to understand its potential in the last tests. The feelings are more than positive, the goal is to be able to consistently stay in the top group, fighting for the Top 5 and always stay in the Top10. I would like to arrive on the podium then, I know it's a very ambitious goal but I have faith in my crew. The atmosphere is great, we had fun and I had a good time. I also really like the colours of the bike, they have always been those of the VR46.”

Marco Bezzecchi: “Qatar is just a breath from now and I will have to learn to manage the positive pressure that will come. It has been a long wait and the adrenaline is a lot now. I'm happy with how the tests went, of course I still have a lot to do, we have only done one race simulation so far and the first GPs will be challenging. I like the Team, they are close-knit and the atmosphere is good. The title of Rookie of the year is a great goal, more than anything else I'd like to fight for it until the end. It will be special get out on the track on this bike: it has the colours of Valentino and the VR46 family and the Italian spirit of Mooney and Ducati.”

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Celestino Vietti: “It will be a season to be lived in one breath: a year of experience on my shoulders, a motivated work group, that of the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, and some really positive feelings after the first tests. I can't wait for the Qatar GP, one of my favourite tracks, to test myself. The pace is good, the goal is to be as constant and precise as possible, crucial characteristics for being competitive in Moto2.”

Niccolo Antonelli: “A new category, a new Team, the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, and new motivation and desire to do well. We worked hard in the testing to get as ready as possible for the first race in Qatar. The Team is helping me to measure up with the new category and to be comfortable in riding: there is a lot to do, but we are not in a hurry. We continue in this direction, gradually in order to be competitive as soon as possible.”