VR46 team boss Pablo Nieto says his outfit is not under much pressure to play following Pramac’s 2024 title victory as it represents MotoGP Legend Valentino Rossi.
Pramac made history last year when he won the world title with Jorge Martin and MotoGP, making him the first satellite team in the modern era.
In recent years, Pramac had close ties with Ducati, and had full technical support and machine parity.
This was handed over to the VR46 team this year, with Fabio di Giannantonio’s garage side running the Works Spec GP25.
Although not doing VR46 since 2023, it has already won the Grand Prix in a short time on the grid as a Ducati satellite partner.
The expectations for independent teams are rising given the support most satellite teams receive from the factory, coupled with Pramac’s title victory last year.
However, Nieto doesn’t feel this has been handed over to the VR46 team, and points out that the pressure has been under since the Moto 3rd due to its connection with nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi.
“No, I think there’s the pressure we’ve had since we were at Moto3,” Nieto told Crash.Net in an exclusive interview when asked if Pramac’s 2024 campaign had raised expectations for his team.
“We’re VR46. Ultimately, when you care about that name, you have the pressure we already have.
“So it’s very important. For us, if you don’t have the pressure, that means no one cares about you.
“So it’s important to get that pressure because it means a lot of people care about us, they’re looking at us, they’re seeing what we’re doing.
The VR46 enjoyed a solid start to the 2025 campaign, finishing third in the team’s standings after seven rounds earning five podiums in Grand Prix and Sprints.
Franco Morbidelli drifted out fourth in rider points, with Fabio Di Giannantonio 10 points in sixth.
Nieto is happy with what he’s seen so far, but he believes the team is “missing” something because they are contenders on the regular podium.
“It wasn’t that bad,” he added.
“In the end, we are fourth and sixth in the championship, so we are happy, but we always want you more and more.
“That’s normal. I think in the end there’s the best bike I’ve had in MotoGP.
“We have a lot of support from Ducati, so that’s very important to us, too, and we’re working very well, so we have to work a little bit.
“But we need to give a bit of a try that we are missing to fight for the podium in all races.
“I think we have the potential to do that, I think you have to put it all together.
“Sometimes, you’re missing luck or we’re making some mistakes or crashing. But this is a sport.”