Podcast: Explaining the sponsorship mess at Rossi's VR46 MotoGP team
Valentino Rossi's VR46 team is set to step up to MotoGP in 2022 as a two-bike operation running Ducati machinery, with Aramco allegedly its title sponsor.
In April a Saudi company known as Tanal Entertainment issued a press release announcing VR46 would come to MotoGP in 2022 with Aramco as its title sponsor, with VR46 confirming the news last month alongside a three-year deal with Ducati.
However, the title sponsorship deal between Aramco and VR46 doesn't actually exist, despite insistence from the VR46 camp that it has.
The Saudi oil giant since April has sent Autosport two statements denying any involvement with VR46, while Aramco's CEO said the same thing in various meetings during the Dutch TT weekend where he was a guest of Pramac.
All of this now may actually force Valentino Rossi to race on in 2022 with his own team in order to secure sponsorship to ensure the squad can compete, having previously looked certain to retire at the end of the season.
In the latest Tank Slappers podcast, Autosport's Lewis Duncan and Motorsport.com's Oriol Puigdemont discuss this bizarre silly season story.
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