Valentino Rossi’s Ties to Yamaha Weaken After Manufacturer Cuts VR46 Clothing Line

And that's not the only area where they've parted ways.

By: Robbie Bacon

Jan 21, 2025 at 8:01am ET

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Think of the most synonymous racer/manufacturer duo you can. Schumacher and Ferrari are right at the top, with Rossi and Yamaha, am I right? Rossi is Yamaha's most successful MotoGP rider and became a brand ambassador for the OEM after he retired from GP racing, but his ties to the brand have weakened of late.

The VR46 clothing line, owned by Rossi, keeps Yamaha's MotoGP riders warm throughout the year, or at least it did, until now. The OEM has cut ties with Rossi's brand for 2025 and announced a new deal with Macron, an Italian brand, which will manufacture the team's clothing going forward.

When questioned about the change in clothing manufacturer, Yamaha team manager, Maio Meregalli, said, "It is a consequence, but not because of the clothing... Because the negotiations with the new supplier started much earlier.”

I don't fully understand the reasoning from what Meregalli said, but maybe one of you can make sense of it and leave the answer in the comments. For me, if the VR46 deal is up and running and going well, then why change it? But this isn't the only way that Yamaha and VR46 are parting ways.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Moto2 team, which was "run by a division of Yamaha that was not the one that was in charge of MotoGP and was then given to VR46,”, according to Meregalli, will be entrusted to Pramac. This move makes sense, given the fact that Pramac will be running Yamaha bikes in the 2025 season instead of Ducati.

What do you think?

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So, while Rossi remains a Yamaha brand ambassador, his links, or rather his brand's links, to the manufacturer grow further apart. In no other way is the separation more evident than the fact that the VR46 team has become Ducati's main satellite team and will receive one factory-spec Ducati, which Fabio di Giannantonio will ride in 2025.

The question is, when so many of the VR46 academy riders are associated with Ducati, Pecco Bagnaia included, does it make sense for Yamaha to distance itself from Rossi?