After NASCAR Success, Trackhouse Racing Owner Justin Marks Set to Take Over Valentino Rossi’s Former Moto GP Team

They might not have won the Cup Series but Trackhouse Racing had a decent campaign in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series. With three wins under their belt, team owner Justin Marks is a happy man. Moreover, the former racer seems to be expanding his horizons as he is reportedly set to take over a Moto GP team that was once home to the 7-time Moto GP champion, Valentino Rossi.

The team in question is RNF Racing, formerly known as Sepang Racing Team (SRT). Valentino Rossi rode his last season (2021) in Moto GP for SRT, starting 18 races but failing to score a win. It was also the last year that the team’s major sponsor, Petronas, announced its split with the team. As a result, Aprilia came into the picture and the team was rebranded RNF Racing.

Ex-Moto GP team owner pens emotional farewell as Trackhouse Racing waits in the wings

Even when it was called SRT, RNF Racing had the same person at the helm, Razlan Razali. The Malaysian team owner established the team in 2015 and after eight years with the outfit, he has bid farewell. The team made its entry in Moto GP in 2019 with Fabio Quatararo and Franco Morbidelli. RNF Racing also had Moto GP legend Andrea Dovizioso among its ranks in 2023.

However, Razlan Razali will have to leave all that history behind. He recently announced on social media that he will be parting ways with the team in an emotional message.

“The team was my extended family, my second home and we should be proud of what we have achieved and become. What lies ahead? It will be another beginning albeit a different one and I shall watch with the greatest encouragement and excitement,”  his statement read.

As the smoke regarding the team’s future begins to clear, Justin Marks is the person who is reportedly all set to take over. As reported by GP One, the announcement of the Trackhouse group as the new owners of RNF Racing is imminent. However, there has been no official comment from Justin Marks or his team as of yet.

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While this can be quite the development as far as both Moto GP and NASCAR are concerned, the question arises, what happened with RNF Racing? A team that up until recently was able to land the services of legends like Rossi and Dovizioso. Well, as it turns out, there is a longer back story.

The tumultuous last few months at Valentino Rossi’s former team

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At the end of the 2022 season, Razlan Razali sold 60% of the team to CryptoData in a bid to move from Yamaha to Aprilia as its engine manufacturer. As per The Race, an alleged feud between Razali and CryptoData forced the former to let go of his team. The Romanian company was thought to have initially wanted to run the team without Razali, but there was one more problem.

There have been talks of an ongoing dispute with Spanish race promotion company Dorna over title sponsorship fees for this year’s Austrian Grand Prix. The Spanish company, as a result, has been looking elsewhere to fill the grid next season.

The final race of the Moto GP season, the Valencian Grand Prix, is set to be held this coming weekend, by which time there is a high possibility that Trackhouse Racing will have control of RNF Racing. In the meantime, CryptoData has a Saturday night announcement planned at the Spanish track. It will be interesting to see how things develop. Keep checking this space for latest developments.

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