VR46: Three teams, two classes for 2022 Grand Prix season

VR46 will enter three teams in two grand prix classes next season, while also having 'supporting' agreements with a pair of Moto3 outfits.

Alongside the full MotoGP entry with Ducati, VR46 will double its presence in the Moto2 class by running a second team for Yamaha Master Camp riders.

The VR46 Master Camp Team currently competes in the CEV Moto2 European championship, helping Yamaha develop young riders for the future. This year's line-up features Thai competitors Keminth Kubo and Peerapong Boonlert, Frenchman Andy Verdoïa and McKinley Paz from the Philippines.

But for Moto3, the first step on the grand prix ladder, VR46 will continue to rely on placing its Academy riders within other teams.

"In 2022, VR46 will race with two teams in Moto2, including one [new] project with Yamaha. That project will come from the Spanish championship, it's already there, so now it's growing up and coming to the world championship," explained VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto.

"Then it's the same VR46 team as we have now in Moto2 and then MotoGP with Ducati with the two riders that also everyone knows [Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, still to be officially confirmed].

"In Moto3 we will support let's say two teams, Snipers and Avintia, but they are separate [from VR46]. We don’t have anything except an agreement that we will put some riders from the Academy in there, which is important for us because we have so many riders from the Academy to grow up.

"For us it was so difficult to continue to have the VR46 team in Moto3. I think we have to concentrate our [efforts] because we have a lot of things to do. It's important to make some deals with other teams [for Moto3]."

For now, Nieto expects the official VR46 teams to stick with their primary goal of helping young Italian riders reach MotoGP.

"At the moment our project is to try to bring young riders from Italy to the world championship and then MotoGP class," he said. "I think at the moment we will continue like this.

"We have four riders in MotoGP (next year), so it means the Academy is working really good and the results are there."

While VR46's 2022 MotoGP riders, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, are an open secret, it remains to be seen who will be chosen to join Celestino Vietti in Moto2 and who Yamaha will select for the Master Camp seats.

Both the official VR46 MotoGP and Moto2 teams are due to have new title sponsorship from Aramco next season. Doubts have been cast over the deal, but Nieto says slow progress is being made.

"As you know we made the agreement with Aramco and things are going very slow," he said. "There are some delays, but we are on the way and have to keep working."

The current list of 'official' VR46 Academy Riders:
1.    Franco Morbidelli (MotoGP)
2.    Francesco Bagnaia (MotoGP)
3.    Luca Marini (MotoGP)
4.    Marco Bezzecchi (Moto2)
5.    Celestino Vietti (Moto2)
6.    Stefano Manzi (Moto2)
7.    Niccolò Antonelli (Moto3)
8.    Andrea Migno (Moto3)
9.    Alberto Surra (Moto3)