VR46 has recruited Pramac rider Franco Morbidelli to partner Fabio di Giannantonio in MotoGP next year.
As has been widely expected, VR46 and Morbidelli have agreed to a one-year deal that will see the 2020 title runner-up race for the team owned by his mentor and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi.
The 29-year-old will continue with the GP24 bike that he currently rides at Pramac, with only his future team-mate di Giannantonio getting access to the factory GP25 after he landed a factory contract directly with Ducati earlier this month.
Morbidelli will take the place currently occupied by three-time grand prix winner Marco Bezzecchi, who will partner points leader Jorge Martin at Aprilia in 2025-26.
“What a beautiful story!," said Morbidelli.
"I am very happy to announce that I have signed with the VR46 Racing Team for the 2025 season. I will definitely feel at home here, I really want to do well and repay, with good results, this trust both for myself and for all the crew.
"I want to go back in the years and rejoice again with the whole group. A heartfelt thanks to the entire VR46 Riders Academy and to my management. Vale, Carlo, Uccio, Albi and Gianluca. Friends, but also key figures in the VR46 reality. I can't wait to start this new adventure together”.
Morbidelli has struggled for performance since leaving Yamaha to join Ducati’s stable at the start of this year, with a major training crash in January preventing him from taking part in pre-season testing and putting him on the back foot in 2024.
An improved form in recent races, including a fifth-place result in the German Grand Prix, has allowed him to recover to 12th place in the championship and equal the points tally of Bezzecchi, the rider he is replacing at VR46.
Bezzecchi himself has been comfortably outperformed by team-mate di Giannantonio in 2024, scoring 61 points compared to 104 for his countryman.
VR46 itself sits fifth in the standings, ahead of KTM’s factory team but two spots behind fellow Ducati satellite team Gresini.
Alessio Salucci, Team Director of VR46 said: "I am really happy to be able to confirm that Franco will race with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team in 2025.
"Franco was the first rider to enter the VR46 Riders Academy, we have known him since years, we have seen him grow in Tavullia and today, with great satisfaction, we can say that he will join the crew starting from the next season. He is a rider of great talent, we can't wait to welcome him and let him enjoy the family and home atmosphere that distinguishes us.
"He will continue to race with a Ducati, a Desmosedici GP24, and we are sure he will be able to fight with the group of the strongest guys. Once again, I can only thank Ducati for the support both in human and technical terms and all our partners, Pertamina Lubricants among all, who support this incredible project”.
The announcement all but confirms that Fermin Aldeguer will race for Gresini in 2025, joining Alex Marquez.
