Rossi reveals 2024 Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team

news7g01/26/2024

1 4 minutes read

Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team

The Palariccione stage was lit up for the launch of Valentino Rossi’s 2024 MotoGP team line-up – the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team – with a three-year partnership with the Indonesian giant PT Pertamina Lubricants giving the new name to the team.

2023 was one to remember, hitting achievements like the best year ever in the premier class: the first victory in MotoGP and the third place in the Riders standings by Marco Bezzecchi. Combine that with three victories, a total of nine podiums and ten placements in the top three in the Sprint on Saturday.

Now Marco Bezzecchi is joined by Fabio Di Giannantonio who will debut with the neon yellow of the Tavullia Team at the MotoGP test in Malaysia, February 6, and then in Qatar for the first race in March.

Marco Bezzecchi

“It will be my third season in MotoGP and I am happy to be to the track once again with the same crew, at Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team and riding a Ducati. I would like to do something similar to what we did in 2023: be competitive, consistent, get on the podium and have good races. I also really like the new livery, completely different, something that has never been seen in MotoGP. I expect a hard-fought Championship, of the highest level and with many strong riders and bikes. We can do two things: have fun and try to being among the protagonists.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio

“I’m really excited, I can’t wait. For me it is the first year at Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team: we met at the Valencia test at the end of the year, when we tried the Ducati package that we will use this season and the feelings were immediately positive. We have a great potential to achieve our ambitions. The livery is crazy, you can notice it on and off the track. Wearing this yellow is a great honor for me. It will be an interesting start, there have been a lot of changes in terms of the lineup, riders and bikes. We all have to get settled, but it will be a great show!”

Both riders will be competing on the Ducati Desmosedici GP and supported by a close-knit crew – working under the watchful eyes of its Team Owner, Valentino Rossi.

Valentino Rossi – Team Owner

“These 10 years have flown by since we started working on this project. At the beginning I was convinced that MotoGP was not our real goal, people around me pushed a lot, Uccio among the first ones. Things went well right from the start and last year was unforgettable, fantastic, everyone raised the bar. The first MotoGP victory in Argentina means the fulfillment of a collective dream. A lot of new things await us in 2024: a new title partner, a new rider together with Bez, Fabio, and a technical package of the highest level. I am very happy with the partnership with Pertamina Enduro, the Indonesian fans have always had great affection and respect towards me. Marco and Fabio are a new couple, but they are two very fast riders and two good guys. It’s been a very long winter and I can’t wait to see them on track in Malaysia and then in Qatar for the start of the season.”

The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team is also once again led by Alessio Salucci as Team Director, alongside Team Manager Pablo Nieto. Plus of course the technical package which bears the ‘Made in Italy’ signature of Ducati, World Champion motorcycle for 2022 and 2023.

Alessio Salucci – Team Director

“I remember the winter of 2013 when we started working on this project. It was a beautiful journey, it required a lot of commitment, but in 10 years we have achieved goals we can be proud of. We have always had the desire and motivation to do well and we celebrate this first decade with the arrival of a new partner. I’m very happy because Indonesian fans have always had great affection and admiration for Vale. I like to think that it is not a coincidence that we signed with Pertamina Enduro, there is a lot of enthusiasm and we will all give our best. In 2024 we will be to the track with the livery designed by Aldo Drudi who revolutionised the graphic soul of the team with the inclusion on the livery of our fluorescent yellow DNA. The best hope for starting this new adventure. From a technical point of view, with Ducati we have the best available package on the grid and Marco and Fabio are very fast. I know we’ll have fun!”

Pablo Nieto – Team Manager

“It will be a special year, the Team’s tenth in the World Championship. How long road and how much satisfaction from Moto3 and then Moto2, up to MotoGP. The truth is that we still have a lot to learn, but this gives us the right motivation and determination to continue working and doing well. The pair of riders is new: I know Marco better, he is a great talent and he had an almost perfect season. It may happen again, but we must all learn from our mistakes. It will be Fabio’s debut instead, he is hungry, he finished well in 2023 and he has a solid team behind him. Ducati’s technical package is currently the best, we have maximum support from the factory and, having the previous year’s bike, we can make the difference in the first races.”