VR46 and Gresini in particular are not interested in working with Yamaha – What impact the Pramac-Yamaha option would have on Ducati
The current 2024 MotoGP season is the second in a row in which Yamaha is represented on the grid with just two motorcycles. The last Yamaha satellite team to date was Razlan Razali’s RNF racing team in the 2022 season. This team previously raced under the Petronas colors for three years and was sometimes more successful than the Yamaha factory team
For the future, Yamaha hopes to have a satellite team in the field again. According to statements made by Yamaha Team Director Massimo Meregalli to MotoGP.com on the sidelines of the MotoGP race at Le Mans last weekend, this is “still a priority”. However, Meregalli admitted on this occasion that he is not particularly confident at the moment.
Why? The VR46 team had already more or less rejected Yamaha when team boss Alessio “Uccio” Salucci declared a few weeks ago that he wanted to stick to the timetable with Ducati. And now the Gresini team has also rejected Yamaha.
Gresini team boss Nadia Padovani has a clear answer to the question of whether there is a chance that her racing team will team up with Yamaha for the 2025 MotoGP season: “No, not at all,” said Padovani in an interview with Marca.
After the anything but enthusiastic statements from the VR46 and Gresini camps regarding a collaboration with Yamaha, the Japanese manufacturer has only one team left as a possible partner for the upcoming 2025 MotoGP season.
It is the Pramac team – but only if they decide to say goodbye to Ducati. “As long as there is hope, we will try,” said Yamaha Team Director Meregalli at the Le Mans weekend.
Fabio Quartararo explains: Second Yamaha team “very important “
Yamaha’s star rider Fabio Quartararo, who recently extended his contract with the factory team for another two years until the end of 2026, is fervently hoping for a second Yamaha team. He even goes so far as to say that a simple satellite team will not be enough.
“We, and by that I mean Yamaha and myself, are working hard to have a satellite team. I think it’s very important,” says Quartararo, who lists several reasons. “You just have to think about how many more laps you could test in the winter. If you compare the number of laps we do with those of Ducati, it’s like night and day,” said the Frenchman.
With more bikes, Yamaha could “test a lot more things and also have feedback from more riders,” said Quartararo. “That’s why it’s very important to have a team, and I wouldn’t even say a satellite team. In my opinion, it has to be an extension of the factory team.”
“They,” says the Yamaha factory rider about the riders of two additional Yamaha M1s, “should have factory bikes and factory support. I think that’s also very important from a rider’s point of view. After all, your first opponent is the one on the same bike as you. But if there are three riders, then that gives you even more motivation. And I think you can learn even more in a case like this.”
The impact on Ducati if Pramac switches to Yamaha
If the situation arises that Yamaha joins forces with the Pramac team for the 2025 MotoGP season, this would also have an impact on the Ducati camp. The contract that the Pramac team still has with Ducati until the end of 2024 states that they have the exclusive right to be the factory-supported team.
This means that if everything remains as it is and Pramac extends the contract with Ducati, VR46 and Gresini would not be able to receive a Desmosedici with the same specification as the factory team in 2025. However, if the collaboration between Pramac and Ducati comes to an end at the end of the 2024 season and Paolo Campinoti’s team joins forces with Yamaha, VR46 and/or Gresini could receive one or two Ducati GP25s
The latter scenario, in turn, would give Marc Marquez the opportunity to ride a factory bike even if a move to the Ducati factory team does not work out for him. The six-time MotoGP World Champion could then extend his contract with Gresini, which currently only covers one year, and still ride a GP25.
Gresini team boss Nadia Padovani said in an interview with Marca about a possible further collaboration with Marc Marquez: “That would be wonderful. His contract currently runs for one year. We will see. We’ll see what Marc wants to do. “