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Luca Marini, VR46 Racing Team, Valentino Rossi
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The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend

Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend

He may not carry the Rossi surname, but it is a well-established fact at this point that Luca Marini is nine-time motorcycle grand prix world champion Valentino Rossi’s brother. And he rides for the VR46 Ducati team.

When the VR46 squad announced its intentions to step up to MotoGP in 2022, it was destined that Marini would bag one of the seats. But Marini has had to earn his place the hard way. His early Moto2 results were nothing spectacular, but that started to change in 2018 with the VR46 team when he scored his first grand prix victory.

Previous article Darryn Binder “was a victim” of RNF’s Yamaha MotoGP split for 2023
Next article MotoGP champion Bagnaia "accepts" criticism of his fraught 2022

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