Valentino Rossi’s VR46 MotoGP outfit has reportedly reached an agreement with Yamaha to become the Japanese manufacturer’s official satellite operation from the 2025 season. The deal was brokered over the Qatar Grand Prix weekend for a two-year partnership spanning the 2025 and ’26 terms.

The VR46 team has been rumored to be seeking a partnership with Yamaha for some time. Currently, the team is on par with Gresini as a Ducati customer below the factory squad and the main satellite organization, Pramac. FIM President Jorge Viegas hinted in 2022 that VR46 would switch to Yamaha for the 2024 campaign. However, team boss Alessio Salucci clarified that they would honor their deal with Ducati until the end of that season.

This move holds sentimental value for the team due to owner Valentino Rossi’s longstanding association with Yamaha. Rossi won four of his seven premier class titles with Yamaha and ended his career with the manufacturer after an unsuccessful two-year stint with Ducati.

If the partnership goes ahead, VR46 is likely to receive at least one factory-spec M1 from Yamaha. The manufacturer is interested in securing the services of current Moto2 standout Fermin Aldeguer. The 18-year-old Spaniard has won the last three races in the intermediate class with Speed Up and is in talks to join VR46 as a replacement for Luca Marini, who has been chosen as Marc Marquez’s successor at the factory Honda team.

Yamaha has been without a second operation to share data since the end of last year when the RNF outfit became Aprilia’s satellite partner. Previously, Tech 3 left Yamaha to become KTM’s main partner in 2018 due to the brand not offering as much support as its European rivals.