Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini will ride for the Esponsorama Avintia Ducati for 2021.

Enea Bastianini had signed for Ducati in September at Misano, with it all but confirmed at the time it would be with Avintia, while Luca Marini has been linked with the Avintia squad for some time.

The deal was delayed with Valentino Rossi out of action due to his COVID-19 test, but has put pen to paper to link his VR46 Racing Team with Avintia to place his half-brother, Marini onto the MotoGP grid.

The news comes minutes after Avintia confirmed their collaboration with Rossi’s Moto3 outfit, who will leave the Moto3 grid in 2021. The VR46 backed Avintia team will run Niccolo Antonelli alongside current rider Carlos Tatay.

Luca Marini – SKY VR46 Racing Team

“Having the great opportunity to race in MotoGP in 2021 is a dream and the wish that all riders have since they were little. In these years with the Sky Racing Team VR46 I have accumulated a lot of experience and thanks to them I have grown and achieved my first important results.”

Enea Bastianini – Italtrans Racing Team

“Racing in MotoGP is a dream, and I am very happy to be able to do it with Ducati, a brand of which I have been a great fan since the days of my idol Casey Stoner. “

This signing now confirms Ducati’s 2021 plans, with Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia stepping up to the factory Ducati team with Jorge Martin and current Avintia Ducati rider Johann Zarco filling the Pramac seats.

In the meantime, Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini are fighting for the Moto2 World Championship, however, Marini’s current run of form has seen him slip to third, 23 points behind points leader Sam Lowes and 16 points behind 2021 team-mate Bastianini.

Featured image: Esponsorama Racing