VR46 Unveils Garuda Tribute Livery for Indonesian Grand Prix

Valentino Rossi's VR46 Racing Team will race in a one-off tribute livery at this weekend's Indonesian Grand Prix, honouring its Indonesian title partner Pertamina Enduro. The new colours were revealed at an unveiling in Jakarta on Tuesday ahead of the 17th round of the MotoGP season at the Mandalika circuit.

The design pays homage to the Garuda, the mythical bird from Hindu and Buddhist mythology that has become Indonesia's national symbol, known as Garuda Pancasila. According to the team, the Garuda lies across the Ducati Desmosedici GP with its wings spread over both sides of the bike and its head resting on the fuel tank, representing the fighting spirit and courage the team says it shares with its partner.

Indonesia's national colours of red and white dominate the design, with golden flames woven through and the squad's familiar fluorescent yellow kept at the front. As ever, the livery was created by Aldo Drudi and Drudi Performance.

It is a splash of colour at the end of a difficult week for the team. VR46 endured a bleak Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, where Franco Morbidelli trailed home 15th, nearly 35 seconds off the lead, and Fabio Di Giannantonio could only manage 18th while struggling with problems on his Ducati. Di Giannantonio's title hopes have all but evaporated, the Italian now 103 points adrift with six rounds remaining. The Indonesian Grand Prix will also be the team's final outing with this rider line-up: Di Giannantonio moves to the factory KTM squad next season, while Morbidelli's switch to Ducati's World Superbike project was confirmed earlier this week.