Austin MotoGP: Lamborghini backs Pramac team amid sponsor doubt

Alma is in an ongoing legal case involving its owner Luigi Scavone, who was arrested in March in connection with an investigation into large-scale tax evasion.

Pramac did not issue a comment when the news broke, but the branding of the Alma company - which deals with matters of temporary employment and has backed Pramac since 2017 - was gone from its bikes and other team equipment in Argentina.

Both Jack Miller's Ducati Desmosedici GP19 and rookie Francesco Bagnaia's 2018-spec Ducati will now carry Lamborghini branding at Austin instead, aligning the two Volkswagen Group brands.

"Running a Grand Prix as important as the United States, with the Lamborghini logo next to the Pramac one on our fairing, is a source of great satisfaction for us," said team boss Paolo Campinoti.

"We are proud to have Automobili Lamborghini as title sponsor of the Grand Prix of the Americas and this underlines that the relationship between Lamborghini and Pramac goes beyond the feeling of deep friendship that binds me to [Lamborghini CEO] Stefano Domenicali."

Pramac ran a pair of special black-and-yellow Lamborghini-inspired colour schemes at Mugello last year and had Lamborghini Centro Stile director Mitja Borkert design its 2019 livery.

"What better occasion than the Austin GP to confirm the important collaboration between Automobili Lamborghini and Pramac Racing," said Lamborghini CEO Domenicali.

"The main objective of this collaboration is to create a system of Made in Italy excellence.

"The United States is the ideal place to develop, consolidate and communicate the concept of great Italian manufacturing.

"The synergy with Pramac goes in this direction."