Pramac has announced that it will part ways with Ducati at the end of the current MotoGP season to become a satellite Yamaha team in 2025.
As revealed by Autosport on Thursday, the Italian outfit will bring the curtain down to a relationship that began almost two decades ago in 2005 to ink a new multi-year deal with Yamaha.
Campinoti had detected a growing interest from Ducati in the VR46 structure, and the Italian marque even raised the possibility of Pramac giving up an official bike to Valentino Rossi’s team, which triggered a war — and the eventual separation- between the two parties.
Their split however means Yamaha will once again have a satellite team in its stable, the culmination of the efforts of team boss Lin Jarvis who is due to retire from his post at the end of 2024.
Bringing Pramac under its fold is expected to be a major boost for Yamaha in its quest to return to the sharp end of the grid, as it will have more resources to develop the M1.
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The Iwata brand intends on supplying four identical bikes across its two teams next season, offering parity of equipment to Pramac as part of their contract. It marks a change of philosophy for the brand, having previously focused on doing business rather than improving the competitiveness of its bikes with satellite teams.
It’s not yet clear which two riders will line up for Pramac next year, with Martin already having announced his decision to join the factory Aprilia team next year.
Another candidate that has been talked about a lot recently is World Superbike superstar Toprak Razgatlioglu, although the Turkish rider is tied to BMW until 2026 and will need to find a way to break his contract.
Pramac could consider promoting young riders as well, so Moto2 Sergio García or Alonso Lopez can not be ruled out.
As a consequence of Pramac tying up with Yamaha, VR46 will automatically inherit its current position and enjoy factory support from next year.
Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
In principle, the squad should receive two identical bikes to factory team riders Marquez and Bagnaia, along with full technical support. But, that is assuming that VR46 will agree to cover the price of two VR46s instead of just one.
VR46 has not decided on its line-up either, although one of the riders should be Fermin Aldeguer, who was signed by Ducati at the beginning of the year and was set to be originally placed at Pramac.