Close to the third deadline for payment by Tanal , we are talking about August 31, the day of confrontation of the four Ministries, and His Royal Highness Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Saud bin AbdulAziz Al Saud through his emissary Architect Marco Bernardini, the game becomes hard and dangerous for the VR46 team which, however, it is now certain, has its Plan B, which is none other than Plan A prior to the arrival of the Prince, i.e. the involvement of the current sponsors with a Budget increase.
So the team will be done 100%, no doubt about it.
How much money does it take and how much is missing?
5 million are given by Irta. To get things done right, 5-6 more are missing.
This speaking only of 2022.
Even if one or two million were missing, this would not be a problem.
To guarantee the 5 years, however, it would take a package of 6-7 million per year provided by serious companies that believe in a multi-year project.
At the moment, however, we are talking about emergencies, even if the renewal of SKY, of which the news has just arrived, calms the waters very much.
In the paddock, from Ezpeleta to the last employee, for several weeks, everyone is now convinced that the project has vanished and VR46 is rightly moving to communicate, for Misano or in the following days, its detachment from Tanal and all that concerns them, declaring that the Saudi times are not compatible with the sporting needs of the team. It is difficult to admit that his staff has made a mistake. VR needs an elegant exit.
Is WithU really so important ?
WithU is the main topic of discussion and the doubt should be revealed at Misano and yet it is no longer so important today. Many see the energy company almost everywhere but with a profit of 1.42 million euros, it is difficult for it to have the opportunity to sponsor everyone with a massive budget
According to some the company should support the former team Petronas and Dovizioso while according to others it should follow VR46.
According to our information, WithU arrived in Petronas thanks to VR46 due to Morbidelli.
A WithU interested in an ITALIAN rider belonging to the Accademy.
WithU and Morbidelli arrived on the Yamaha Petronas as a package.
For this reason, if VR46 had a Budget problem, unless a dispassionate love for Morbidelli, who is in any case going to the factory team , WithU would hardly choose ONLY the Yamaha of Dovizioso who is a rider at the end of his career and out of VR46.
Therefore is difficult to think that WithU could CHOOSE to do ONLY the title sponsor of the former Petronas team giving up the benefits that VR46 could provide. Marini, Bezzecchi or whoever VR46 wants to put on Ducatis are a more attractive offer than Dovizioso and Binder.
Even if they were “only” 2 million, it is unlikely that VR46 in such a delicate moment would miss even a crumb of a sponsor that has itself allowed to enter the paddock. But WithU doesn’t have the strength to be a title sponsor. And here comes SKY which renews for 4 years and saves the face of VR46 by obtaining, after having lost all football, at least some motorsport. The best option is that WithU agrees to be present on both Yamaha Petronas and VR46 but without being title sponsor. THERE WOULD NOT EVEN NEED TO CHANGE THE liveries!
What will SRT do?
The SRT team is a team in danger.
At the moment, none in the team has a contract beyond the deadline. In 2022 there will be a company managed by Stigefelt and Razali . By Razali we do not know much while Stigefelt before Petronas has a past in Superbike with Honda put on track by Oral , with whom he lived darkest moments.
In these years of lavish Petronas sponsorship the balance could be back in place but, without the Malaysians, in a distorted scenario, the team would not hold up. The fate of SRT is all to be decided.
Yamaha’s help tastes like gratitude
Yamaha factory was forced to take a delicate situation in hand, putting Dovizioso under contract.
For many years the SRT team, thanks to Petronas, was a cash cow, but now it’s time to help it.
The factory team , in fact, owes a big debt to don SRT since the team of Stigefelt and Razali has grown Quartararo and Morbidelli, so good as to deserve the official bike with the real possibility (for Quartararo) of winning the world championship as well.
This evolution is not due to Jarvis ‘policy but to Petronas’ choices that could now be rewarded.
The Japanese, albeit late as usual, would have understood that SRT must be saved and that it is time to repair the broken toy that has brought so many benefits.
With the farewell of Vinales and the resulting savings, about 8 million, there is plenty of margin to operate smoothly.
Assuming a 2 million salary for Dovizioso and a few coins for Binder (a rookie from Moto2 earns around 200-300 thousand euros and therefore one from Moto3 even less), there would be around 6 million left.
With these, even paying Morbidelli well (let’s assume 2 million for him too) remains a decent budget that would allow SRT a discount on motorcycle leasing for at least a year (to keep the team standing). They are all budgeted and therefore ready-to use money.
All this while waiting to solve the immediate problem that would allow Stigefelt’s bikes to be deployed safely .
Yamaha, which has found itself in an unexpected situation, would still have the opportunity to get out of the problem.
The next few years, of course, are something else.
Dorna’s situation
A few more difficulties, however, for Dorna .
If VR46 were missing a million or two, there would still be no problems. VR46 should be helped to avoid losing an important team and to save the image.
Here too, however, the patch would be for 2022 alone.
Dorna lost about 100 million in 2020 and is about to lose many in 2021 as well. The golden years have passed and what Dorna does not want is to be forced to solve the problems of VR46 for the next 5 years.
This is what SKY is for. Dorna gives a discount to the broadcaster which thus saves VR46 and avoids Dorna from engaging massively.
The VR46 situation
How exactly VR will want to handle the VR46 situation is unclear.
In addition to publicly saying goodbye to the Prince, speaking of tight deadlines or admitting that he has made a mistake, there is the problem of the riders.
Marini is certain but has not yet been officially announced. Bezzecchi is supposed but not even he has been confirmed, with the addition that it is obvious that for him there is no longer any SRT offer. The good bike of Stigefelt and Razali will go to Dovizioso and therefore Bezzecchi must be deployed with VR46 at any cost.
VR46 certainly is thinking itself beyond Tanal .
This also emerges from the fact that the former Moto2 sponsors are already evaluating the new requests and are in turmoil.
The same SKY, which has just confirmed the renewal, thanks to a very elastic Dorna , has set itself in motion to save VR46.
It remains only to understand how and when Valentino (only he can make such a communication) will emerge from the impasse in the most elegant way possible.
It is important to understand if Rossi will win back on the mysterious contract signed with Tanal , going to the clash with the Arabs or if he will ignore it, having understood that there is no compensation to be taken.
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