VR46 MotoGP team switching to Yamaha

[SoCal250]

Sounds like we'll have a little better brand balance on the grid in 2024. 8 Ducs is too many in a field of 22 bikes!

FIM president Jorge Viegas has stated that Rossi's VR46 team will switch from Ducati to Yamaha after next season. It's been a rumor for a few months but now it sounds like it will actually happen.
https://www.motorsportweek.com/2022/12/04/fim-president-vr46-will-switch-from-ducati-to-yamaha-in-2024/

[SoCal250]

Salucci is denying that the VR46 team will move to Yamaha in a year, and will stick with Ducati through the current contract.
Lin Jarvis says that Yamaha is currently in search of a satellite team. It will be interesting to see what develops.

https://www.crash.net/motogp/feature/1018135/1/yamaha-already-looking-new-satellite-motogp-team

[sav0r]

I agree there were too many Ducs on the grid. It actually gave them a big development advantage. That said, I don't think I'd want the Yamaha.

Is there a MotoGP equivalent of the Concord Agreement where existing teams have to approve new teams?

[DesmoDrew]

   It's not like Ducati is trying to win through numbers. Other factories just aren't stepping up, and Ducati is putting one and two year old bikes on the grid. Yamaha has always been a crappy company when it comes to satellite teams. Tech3 never got factory bikes, even when they offered to pay for them. RNF kept getting one year deals, which makes it tough to secure a sponsorship. Suzuki never offered bikes to a satellite team. So limiting the number of Ducatis  just means you're gonna have less bikes on the grid.  Even by Ducati admits it is  tough for them to keep that many bikes supported.

[Seizer]

I was wondering why Franco Morbidelli hasn't lost his factory seat yet.....

[SoCal250]

I was wondering why Franco Morbidelli hasn't lost his factory seat yet.....

I was wondering the same thing when the season closed out. He's been way off the pace the past 2 years after his awesome run in the 2020 season (2nd in the championship with 3 wins).

[Hawaii-Mike]

I hope Yamaha can add power to their machines.

[SoCal250]

I hope Yamaha can add power to their machines.

Me too, and without affecting other areas like corner exit.
At first it sounded as if they had finally made made a step with next year's engine, but the post-season test at Valencia proved otherwise. They still have issues. They've been stuck in neutral for a couple years while all the other manufacturers have made improvements, especially Aprilia and Ducati.

[Seizer]

I was wondering why Franco Morbidelli hasn't lost his factory seat yet.....

I was wondering the same thing when the season closed out. He's been way off the pace the past 2 years after his awesome run in the 2020 season (2nd in the championship with 3 wins).

I'd like to think that VR46 made a deal to retain Franco through his contract with the rub being that VR46 switches to Yamaha in '24. Can you imagine how well Rins would do on an M1 compared to the Honda? There's gotta be a reason why Rins wasn't pursued and FM retained. I love Silly Season Speculation haha.