VR46: “It's going to be hard, but that's MotoGP”

VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto acknowledges the pressure is on to deliver in MotoGP 2026.

Fabio di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli were the only Ducati riders not to win a race in MotoGP last season, on their way to sixth and seventh in the standings, despite VR46 stepping up to ‘Factory supported’ status.

The pressure to do better, Nieto says, is a reflection of the team’s potential.

But - speaking at VR46’s Rome launch, where the team’s revised back-and-yellow livery was unveiled - he also warned that Ducati’s rivals have “arrived to the top” and that “it's going to be a very hard season,

“All the riders are very, very fast, all the manufacturers have also arrived to the top,” Nieto said.,

“To be the factory supported team from Ducati is very important. It's going to be a lot of pressure, but if you don't have pressure, it means you cannot make nothing. So it's going to be an important year for us.

“We saw that the other manufacturers also arrive, so we have to take care about everything.

“We have to be very focused in the first races because that is going to make the difference during the whole season.

“It's going to be hard, but that's MotoGP.”

di Giannantonio will again have access to factory-spec Ducati machinery, while Morbidelli continues on a year-old satellite bike.

Both riders will debut the new colours during the official Sepang test from February 3–5.