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Avintia has officially presented its new all-rookie MotoGP line-up of Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini, during an online team launch broadcast via Instagram on Friday evening.
While continuing with Ducati machinery for an eighth season, Avintia will have a divided livery in 2021 with Valentino Rossi‘s younger brother Marini remaining in Sky colours and being overseen by VR46 within the Avintia structure.
Reigning Moto2 champion Bastianini looks set to race for ‘Avintia Esponsorama’ with title runner-up Marini competing under the ‘Sky VR46 Avintia Team’ banner (similar to the split Castrol/Idemitsu title sponsorships at LCR).
“MotoGP is incredible. The best. I will give it my all… I’m training so hard,” Marini said.
Marini’s Desmosedici, first unveiled on Italian TV last December, continues in the now familiar Sky VR46 colours, but Bastianini’s MotoGP livery hadn’t been revealed until this evening in Andorra.
Like the team’s Moto3 rider Niccolo Antonelli and MotoE competitors Xavi Cardelus and Andre Pires, Bastianini will race in bright blue and yellow colours, with large (white) ‘Avintia’ branding on either side of the fairings.
While their bikes will look different, both Bastianini and Marini will be using GP19-based machines. All other Ducati riders will be powered by the GP20 engine, which cannot be updated for 2021 due to the special Covid technical freeze.
Bastianini and Marini are due to their MotoGP debuts at the start of the Qatar shakedown test, on March 5.
The pair, along with fellow rookie Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) will then have just six days of track time to prepare for their premier-class race debut, also set for Qatar, on March 28.
Johann Zarco (below) gave Avintia its first MotoGP podium and pole position on his way to 13th in last year’s world championship.
The Frenchman is joining Pramac Ducati for 2021 while former Avintia team-mate Tito Rabat is switching to WorldSBK after finishing just 22nd in last year’s standings.
The next online MotoGP launch will be by the Official Ducati Team (Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia) on February 9.
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