With a crucial 2026 season approaching, Valentino Rossi's VR46 team is preparing its grand return to the forefront of the sport. The team, which endured a disappointing 2025 season, will officially announce its fresh start at a launch event in Rome on January 14th. This strategic date, placed between the presentations of Pramac Yamaha and the Ducati factory team, aims to solidify its place in the MotoGP landscape. But all is not well in the yellow jerseys…
Indeed, the 2025 season should have represented the advent of the VR46 in the hierarchy Ducati : increased factory support, a GP25 in the hands of Fabio DiGiannantonio, a GP24 entrusted to Franco Morbidelliand the legacy of a team capable of winning three Grands Prix in 2023. It ultimately became one of a prolonged drought. Since the 2023 Indian Grand Prix, VR46 has not won again, becoming in 2025 the only Ducati structure to not win any races, while its direct rivals — the factory team, and especially Gresini — were accumulating podium finishes, victories, and visibility.
For By GiannantonioThe campaign was limited to four podium finishes on the GP25, a lackluster performance that fell far short of confirming the potential revealed at the end of the 2023 season. MorbidelyRiding a year-old machine, he added two third-place finishes but never challenged for the win. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez et Pecco Bagnaia outrageously dominated the GP25 debates, racking up thirteen victories between them, and Alex Marquez accompanied the rebirth of Gresini culminating in a magnificent second place in the championship, which will also earn him a GP26 for 2026. Even Fermin AldeguerHis teammate and rookie of the year also had his success…
In this context, the sporting director of VR46, Pablo Nieto, spoke frankly: “ we must make progress and The team now has to fight for something that matters. ».
A necessary lucidity, given the structure of Valentino Rossi seemed to oscillate throughout the year between frustrating promises and performances insufficient to keep pace with the best Ducati.
However, despite an objectively disappointing season, Ducati refuses to let go VR46. On the contrary, Davide Tardozzi was keen to publicly reaffirm his support, recalling that the team of Rossi represents more than just an entity in the sports organizational chart:
« We are satisfied with the team's work. They are important to us and showed us how professional they are »
Davide Tardozzi and therefore Ducati are attacking the VR46 riders: They did not perform well during the season and that does not do justice to the team. »
While he admits that the pilots' results did not reflect the true value of the structure, he insists that the difficulties of Morbidely et Di Giannantonio should not be interpreted as internal flaws:
« For one reason or another, Franky and DiGia didn't perform well during the season. They experienced highs and lows, and that doesn't do justice to the team. because it worked very well »
This support is not insignificant: By Giannantonio is directly under contract with Ducati, a notable distinction, whereasAlex Marquez, despite his exceptional season at GresiniDiggia remains contractually bound to his team. He finished the year in sixth place in the championship, 262 points behind the leaders. Marc Marquez, While Morbidely finished seventh, 31 points behind his teammate.
Beyond the sporting aspect, the team VR46 is preparing to open a new aesthetic and strategic chapter. On its Instagram account, the structure of Rossi revealed that it would unveil its 2026 livery on January 14 in Rome, with an enigmatic mention — “the new black and clear— suggesting a potentially significant visual change after two seasons in Pertamina Enduro colors.
The team will remain unchanged in terms of drivers: Fabio Di Giannantonio will retain a factory machine. Franco Morbidelli will have a one-year-old motorcycle.
A rare stability in a constantly shifting paddock, which could offer VR46 the necessary foundation to bounce back.
The start VR46 This is part of a busy schedule, reflecting the excitement surrounding the 2026 season:
13 January – Siena: Pramac Yamaha presentation
14 January – Rome: VR46 presentation
19 January – Madonna di Campiglio: Ducati factory presentation
31 January – Kuala Lumpur: Gresini launch
February 6–7 – Kuala Lumpur: Official MotoGP launch after Sepang tests
VR46 The team approaches 2026 with a clearer identity but a pressing sporting imperative. Born on the Tavullia ranch, and boasting ten years of experience in the lower categories, the structure carries a legacy that every driver and every member of the garage feels. But the time for emotion is over: it's time for reconquest.
Between the confidence displayed by Ducati, the need for a rebound and a launch that promises to be symbolically powerful, the team of Valentino Rossi enters a pivotal season.
A season where the demands will be absolute. A season where patience will no longer be an option. MotoGP knows what VR46 Maybe. He's now waiting to see what will become of her.
