For days now one man has been trying to put a patch on all the fake news, fake projects, and fake credentials put out by himself and never checked by anyone.
Fakes from day one, and every week bigger and bigger, more and more unbelievable, and now uncontrollable and impossible for even the man who invented them to handle.
For days that man has been phoning those few he thinks still believe him to "fix" things, and for days he has been traveling around Italy to recover some small dose of credibility.
He seeks appointments, meets with potential sponsors. With his clothes never changed after days of traveling in his gray Fiat Doblo, he is no longer credible. Form is substance, and someone like him should know that, but there are bigger problems right now.
The man tries to kick forward a payment date that he knows does not exist. There is no transfer, there is no prince. The money never existed. The only money is perhaps money remitted by some small sponsor who wants to become part of the adventure. Peanuts. Finite.
The man made it all up but went too far. And now he is exposed by the facts.
Eppure da maggio, dalla prima smentita di Aramco, qualcuno dubita…ma nonostante questo, viene ignorato. La stampa è tranquilla.
Il 28 luglio in un’intervista a SKY, Uccio Salucci, responsabile racing VR46 dichiara sprezzante che la parte più difficile dell’organizzazione di un team, è l’hospitality.
Chissà se non dovrà occuparsi davvero solo di questo, quando valentino Rossi verrà a sapere che il giorno stesso, questo sito aveva cercato di avvertirlo sull’inconsistenza di Tanal e dei suoi portavoce, Principe compreso. Un progetto da 100 milioni che non è mai esistito.
Parla dell’hospitality come prima difficoltà di un team come Maria Antonietta parlava di brioches agli affamati. Un insulto, soprattutto dopo essere stato avvertito.
Un sarcastico, Uccio, al telefono con chi scrive.
Garantisce di aver ricevuto i soldi da Tanal (da quanto ci risulta non è vero) e assicura di aver fatto le dovute ricerche (complimenti).
Passati ad Alberto Tebaldi, nemmeno una risposta. Rimbalzati. Abbiamo chiesto di parlare con Valentino Rossi. Respinti.
Due giorni dopo Misterhelmet pubblica tutta la documentazione in italiano. 4 giorni dopo, in inglese.
Sono settimane difficili. A livello nazionale ed internazionale, ignorati, sminuiti, insultati, ridicolizzati.
Poi una conferenza stampa surreale mette in pericolo anche le certezze più dure. Troppo ridicolo il Principe, troppo incredibili il Consigliere in t shirt e l’ufficio stampa internazionale che non parla inglese. La stampa internazionale non viene invitata. Mancano Dorna, VR46 e Ducati. Il Principe ha alle sue spalle una tenda Ikea.
Know that the prince we are talking about does not exist and the one you saw on video and on the photos, is someone else and has a strong Maghrebi accent.
Valentino Rossi spoke eight times on the phone with someone he believed to be a Saudi prince. What must they have said to each other?
The Prince's advisor, Architect Bernardini, does not appear to be a real architect. No one has ever checked but us.
So many experiences as a contractor, all failed or ended prematurely. Elevators, electrical panels, energy installations, renovations, work never delivered, they say, in his city. Disputes with city hall, region, companies, financing, business partners. He's burned out in Terni, they say. Some even speak of judicial problems.
The traces of Bernardini's creative projects and his passion for Saudi Arabia are lost over the years since 2017.
No one has ever stopped him.
The projects are so striking, futuristic, optimistic, that they always find fertile ground in the newspapers. Everyone wants to write about beautiful, modern things. Green projects, film projects, technology projects, where a small town in central Italy, Terni, Bernardini's city, teaches things to rich but backward Saudi Arabia.
Bernardini uses press articles as credentials. With those he pushes his ideas into the future. But they are just inventions.
"But did you look in Il Corriere della Sera?" He often asks.
In the press, the Architect's projects appear hundreds of times and give him dangerous web credibility because of the bad habit the press has of not verifying sources. Not a single project has been realized but each one is a credibility trampoline. That's what he probably goes with to come up with other projects and be believed to create even more. If he likes something, Bernardini repurposes it as his own, as happened with the Sagrantino Cup hot air balloon event (real event), which becomes Ambassador Cup but does not exist.
Internet credibility, web presence networking. Bernardini fills the web with articles, initiatives, websites, all fake, and presents himself as the man of many projects, forgetting to say that none are real. "Look at the web of information and releases," he often repeats.
In the last desperate phone calls to those who do not believe him, the delirium is psychedelic.
Tanal (una scatola vuota) passa mese dopo mese dalla sponsorizzazione a VR46 a voler sponsorizzare Dorna. Poi dalla Dorna all’acquisto di un team di Formula1. Il team diventa, ci riferiscono alcuni, Alfa Tauri, in altri casi, Ferrari, fino ad arrivare all’intero acquisto di Liberty Media.
Nemmeno il calcio si salva da Bernardini. Ogni tanto all’architetto scappa il nome di qualche squadra prestigiosa. Sempre a nome di un Principe Saudita.
Saudi Ferrari 🙂
Bernardini's (alleged) friendships range from Ecclestone, to the president of Hyundai or Samsung. His companies all exist, but they look like empty boxes without a headquarters. The headquarters are real buildings with Photoshop logos. They are near Rome. We went to check them out. All fake.
Bernardini negli anni si presenta in Ducati per vendere un parco a tema. Viene buttato fuori. Prova a produrre film, comprare aziende, impianti sportivi, propone hotel, resort, parchi, poli universitari, non ci riesce mai ma nessuno parla e nessuno lo espone.
In questo momento preciso, mentre tratta ancora l’affare VR46, sta provando a comprare un circuito automobilistico i cui proprietari sono freschi di un altro tentativo di truffa.
Bernardini viaggia con centinaia di slide che sembrano fatte da bambini, come i suoi comunicati falsi, senza indirizzi, senza recapiti, che nessuno controlla mai. Loghi contraffatti, progetti di piste che sono circuiti esistenti capovolti, loghi copiati e contraffatti. Tutto fatto alla buona con Paint e Word. Un mare di materiale che disorienta qualunque interlocutore distratto.
I tentativi di Bernardini negli anni sono buchi neri fino a che riesce, con l’aiuto di Giampiero Sacchi, team manager della fallita Ioda Racing e suo concittadino, ad arrivare a Carmelo Ezpeleta. Ci va con VR46 (Salucci e Tebaldi) e con tanti articoli di giornali che parlano bene di lui. VR46 firma un contratto, vero, con Ducati, e un contratto, impossibile con Tanal che, senza pagare (secondo le nostre informazioni) un centesimo, finisce sulle carene e sulle tute VR46. Sarà una faccenda da spiegare. Però funziona. Se Tanal è sulle moto VR46 allora deve essere per forza tutto vero anche perché Uccio Salucci dice che hanno pagato. CIV, CEV, Moto2, MotoGP. E’ lo stesso uccio a mandare foto, video e messaggi audio in cui si vanta della partnership.
Tanal e altri loghi di progetti che non esistono sono sulle carene e sulle tute.
Per mesi, parlando di Tanal/VR46, decine di dichiarazioni, telefonate, comunicati stampa. Non è necessario sforzarsi per credere a Marco Bernardini semplicemente perché nessuno controlla mai niente. Se VR46 e il suo staff dicono che è tutto vero, allora la stampa non può dubitare.
Nemmeno le smentite di Aramco riescono a bloccare il circo. Ci deve essere un misunderstanding. Il Principe ha garantito. Chi non crede è un hater.
Chi ha dubbi viene contattato da Bernardini che provvede a mandare decine di documenti. E’ successo così anche con noi che però, i documenti, li abbiamo controllati.
The press published for months without fail. Sometimes, in a competition for visibility, it even magnified the projects to the point of inventing things that even Bernardini never said.
Electric hybridMoto , bulletproof and fire-resistant hypercars, world balloon championships, cities of the future, theme parks, movies, books. Millions, billions, it all goes by unchecked as if under hypnosis.
Until the day of payment. Someone is surprised that some money that never existed, never left and never arrived.
Valentino scende in campo.
Da qualche giorno ha capito e ha detto ai suoi che al team ci pensa lui. Non parla più del Principe. Nemmeno SKY, lo fa, passando da 10 news al giorno a zero.
Il piano B sono gli sponsor che VR46 ha già. Quelli veri.
WithU, Bardahl, Monster, forse SKY.
Valentino risolverà i suoi problemi in casa come ha sempre risolto quelli in pista. Da solo. Come ha sempre fatto.
Del resto, se questo è l’aiuto che ha dal suo staff, è meglio pensare alle cose personalmente
Il pericolo, però, è reale. Il tempo è scaduto e mancano i 18 milioni di quest’anno oltre ai 72 fino al 2026, e manca anche il secondo pilota per il suo team.
Valentino è costretto ad occuparsi personalmente di cose che non avrebbe mai voluto seguire. Cambiano tutte le priorità, per colpa di un progetto inventato, un dorato Piano A, diventa un affannato Piano B.
Ancora una volta in MotoGP entra chiunque. Nessuno controlla. Nessuno si vergogna.
Last Minute It is from the last minute, August 26, 6:15 p.m., a last desperate communiqué. It is written in English but is directed only to seven Italian journalists. Mystery. Written in Word, full of errors, it is not even paginated and leaves a blank page in the stmpa preview. It looks like it was written in the car, perhaps on the way to the airport. Another paginated one will come later, but still ridiculous Maybe someone has really realized that they need a change of scenery.
My positions on the Vr46 issue are well known. I have expressed them in a video and several articles or posts. And you can read the main articles here.
I have many doubts and have documented them all.
Despite the fact that I have, unlike others, explained all my reasons, and perhaps because of that, I have been ignored, then belittled, attacked and insulted. How I could be the obstacle toward a partnership in which every day people believe less and less but do not want to admit it.
I write because of the love I have for motorsports and the fear that some small operator will be harmed by what I believe is a hoax.
I don't know if there are scammers. There is certainly a lot of amateurism and naiveté. The most dangerous ingredients when it comes to money.
Only a naive person does not detect anomalies bordering on the absurd in this whole story and, even more so, in the Prince's latest press conference with a small number of journalists and two staffers.
1) Come mai è stata invitata solo la stampa Italiana? 2) Come mai sono stati invitati solo 7 giornalisti, due solo dei quali, extra settore? 3) Come mai moltissimi siti di motori ad alta visibilità non sono stati inclusi? 4) Come mai non erano presenti, né emissari di Dorna, né di VR46 che pure dovrebbero essere partner dell’iniziativa? 5) Come mai non è stata invitata Ducati nonostante in occasione della presentazione della nuova avventura, la foto è stata fatta con Ezpeleta, Salucci e Dall’Igna? 6) Come mai non è stata organizzata una piattaforma professionale e il governante di uno stato si è connesso ad una app pubblica, con tutti i pericoli del caso? 7) Come mai non è stato indicato alcun advisor per l’operazione, né tantomeno una banca garante, oltre agli studi legali delle due parti, cosa obbligatoria? 8) come mai SKY, che aveva due giornalisti presenti, da settimane non nomina nemmeno più Tanal? 9) Come mai SKY che fa 8 post al giorno su Rossi, da giorni non nomina più alcun principe dopo che per settimane non ha parlato d’altro e ha aspettato 3 giorni per fare un post sulla conferenza?
The idea we got was that the press conference served to show that there is a prince. Because this thing had been questioned and because, according to some, it would be enough to show a person in a robe to legitimize everything. Because after all, in the wake of the other statements, they thought that just as it was to be considered impossible for all these initiatives to be doubted, it would be equally impossible to be able to doubt a prince after seeing him, albeit in the grainy mode of a poorly organized conference call.
Instead, according to the writer, and unfortunately according to really few others (only Massimo Calandri of Repubblica expressed marked misgivings), it did not go very well.
The people who "ran" the conference do not have the credibility needed for an operation of the level they want people to believe they have.
"Before the prince enters," began Architect Bernardini (who is not an architect), getting the first of a few conjunctives wrong in his opening. An architect who speaks French poorly, English almost not at all, and gets Latin quotations wrong (the Errata "Corrìgge" requested on the phone still rumbles in my head) and Italian subjunctives wrong. One who confuses Overseas with Oversize already speaks volumes.
Per non parlare della Head of Press and Communication Tanal Entertainment, Arianna Pasquale, che non sa il francese e soprattutto ha un livello di inglese da bambino, non conoscendo la differenza fra questions e answers, coniugando frasi mischiando lingue diverse come Salvatore ne Il nome della Rosa.
E’ il primo Head of Press and Communication che non parla le due lingue delle entità che rappresenta e che non ha alcuna esperienza di conunicazione e relazioni pubbliche internazionali, dato che non esiste nessuna traccia della sua attività in merito. Del resto nei comunicati non c’è un suo contatto personale, quindi almeno non dovrà rispondere ai giornalisti come invece dovrebbe fare chi ricopre il suo ruolo. Meglio così, perché in conferenza stampa la performance è ben al di sotto degli standard di una piccola Pro Loco.
On the prince, doubts grow. He doesn't look much like the one in Wikipedia and, more importantly, despite having studied in the UK, so the encyclopedia says, he speaks English poorly. The French, on the other hand, is that of the North Africans who used to come and buy boats and engines from my grandfather, a fishing boat broker in Molfetta, who used to introduce me to these characters who, when they go abroad, dress up as Arabs to have more credibility, but are instead Maghrebi. Some connection with the Korean Moroccan Holding Group also run by Bernardini would come naturally, but let's leave it at that, as there are far greater doubts.
The background of the press conference, of which we have managed to get both audio and video and are proving it to you with details, may be that of the summer residence, but we an austerity of this level we have not seen even in a massage parlor (don't ask us where this analogy comes from).
Does anyone tell us that this gentleman, with a mini PC on his lap (he has no conference hall screen), who is supposed to be a graduate of a prestigious European university with a past as a minister is the real prince? All right. At this point we are sorry that he is letting his representative answer the questions. And that he either doesn't know the numbers of his initiatives or shoots them off the top of his head (the figures reported are at the level of Microsoft, Google and Facebook). Not to mention Tanal who obviously does everything while being nowhere, proof of nothing.
The head of a private fund that is about to spend a billion openly declares that they made a mistake in setting up the operation that should be communicated first in Saudi Arabia than abroad. They would like to build cities, parks, racetracks, cars and motorcycles, but they do not know that communiqués should be issued internally first. Yet in the Saudi press NOTHING EXISTS ABOUT TANAL'S ACTIVITIES. Tanal is never mentioned except when talking about a neighborhood of houses in Rhyad. Amateurism. Tanal does not exist except in communiqués bounced around on the two-wheeler sites and elsewhere, which published everything they received, without ever verifying it, and making it superficially credible thanks to a link popularity in which they were complicit.
Who knows why, on the other hand, at the same time, another private Saudi fund, PIF, acquired Pagani Automobili without warning anyone at all, yet communicating, when it was done, shareholders (complete with % details), banks involved, board of advisors, law firms and corporate offices.
So on the one hand we have UBS Investment Bank as Pagani's exclusive financial advisor, Withers Studio Legale as legal advisor to the selling shareholders, Rothschild & Co and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as financial advisors and legal advisors to the fund. On the other hand, we have Bernardini, Arianna Pasquale, who has no experience in communications with international agencies, Uccio Salucci, Alberto Tebaldi, and Giampiero Sacchi, team manager of the bankrupt Ioda Racing who accompanied them all to Carmelo Ezpeleta.
Neither is a guarantor bank or lawyers. Almost the same.
There is talk of 18 million for 5 years and it is not clear who, how, when and by what means will pay.
I bought cars with more paperwork and people involved.
To the timid questions, the trio raises again and displaces with a hypothetical sponsorship, also for Dorna. It is one of the clichés that has been going on since April.
The plans laid out in the clumsiest press conference of all time, with journalists afraid to do their jobs lest they discover something they don't like and lecturers left galloping in the pastures of fantasy, are the same as the surreal releases already issued in the past.
The ones that had alerted us, to be clear. And now more details further alarm us.
Prendete carta e penna per fare il conto. I parchi diventano un investimento da 300 milioni.
Le città sono più di una, con quella che vede impegnato il solo Principe, Fantastic City, a costare, da sola, 75 miliardi.
200 million is for car and motorcycle factories. Cars and motorcycles that, perhaps the prince does not know, would become the first case of automotive production in Arab countries.
And the prince does not wonder why there is no precedent for this. But the prince's family, moderate motorcyclists who used to race but now go slow, "has been importing Moto Guzzis, Ferraris, Autobianchi and Lancias to Saudi Arabia for years." A gluttonous detail to be written in the newspapers, which is therefore necessarily likely and yet not true, because Autobianchi and Lancia in Saudi Arabia have never been imported, and Ferraris come from the Emirates where the importer is Al Tayer. Go ahead and explain this one to us as well.
For that matter, given the little resistance of cross-examination, even on the Aramco issue, which is dismissed with "we said we weren't talking about it," the revival has been freewheeling.
The interest in motorsports of previous releases and statements becomes, during the press conference, the purchase of the Modena circuit in addition to the construction of a test track in Saudi Arabia.
The love of motorsport, becomes the purchase of an F1 team, but without specifying what that might be.
Per non parlare della costruzione (finalmente) di un circuito in Arabia Saudita per poter poi organizzare (finalmente) un GP nel paese, dimenticando che un circuito, in Arabia Saudita c’è già, a Jeddah, e lo ha costruito Tilke, che è architetto davvero.E c’è anche già un Grand Prix, previsto dal 3 al 5 dicembre di quest’anno. Altro che gli eventi Tanal che non si fanno mai.
L’account della Formula1 ha pubblicato già una simulazione di gara con le 27 curve della pista, il 18 marzo. Lo hanno visto in 600mila ma non il trio di press conferenzieri. Questi signori, insomma, credono di essere pionieri di una cosa che esiste già da un po’. E nessuno dei giornalisti di motori presenti (alcuni direttori di testata) , fra SKY, Gazzetta dello Sport, GPOne, Motosprint, fa una piega a riguardo. Mio padre, però, che ha 76anni e non naviga su Internet, lo sa. Lo ha letto su Il Mesaggero.
E via così anche per tutto il resto.
Rilanciato il Fantastic Trophy, che per essere un progetto che parte a settembre è leggermente in ritardo, non essendo stata ancora costruita la moto con cui si deve correre, mentre le mongolfiere che avrebbero dovuto seguire la manifestazione, prendono vita e si trasformano, secondo Bernardini, in un evento internazionale:
"The organization of an international hot air balloon championship called the Ambassador Cup that in the various press releases was never announced because in the last two months we have read all about it," says the architect.
We read them, but someone wrote them down. Not to mention that the Balloon Ambassador Cup, to be held, we imagine, in Umbria, already exists under another name. It is called the Sagrantino Cup, has been held in Todi since 34 Lanni, and is organized by British aeronaut Ralph Shaw. The photos shown at the press conference are taken right from the Umbro event website. I wonder what Shaw thinks of it.
Sagrantino Cup
This fixation on Umbria and on borrowing, making them one's own, from projects that already exist is a leitmotif we have reported on before.
On a venue, an idea, an event, you put the Tanal brand, Photoshop is fine, and launch into the future. The list is long. Newspapers write confidently, and the media tamtam is created that determines a credibility with which to present oneself.
But sooner or later it has to be paid. The money is expected on Wednesday, so we will see if it is all as they say, despite the ministerial traffic light system that has been postponing for months the agreement that is declared as signed but without any handouts (another mystery).
But even if the money were real, someone has to explain why all these false credentials, bogus locations, projects that do not exist, made-up numbers and a Prince who is not informed about anything he is about to invest in, assisted by a structure that, in practice, does not exist and does not resemble anything that is put up in these cases.
And in any case, it is not true that if the money comes in everything is fine. In the first place there must be transparency and traceability.
If not, we could partner with anyone, including states that continually violate human rights at every level.
But maybe this someone is already willing to do that.
And they like the idea so much that nothing else matters and everything seems normal.
Negli ultimi giorni è successo un po’ di tutto.
Persino i siti da parrucchieri (non si offendano i coiffeur) pieni di gente (finché dura) e di relativi click nonostante la presenza di nessun contenuto ragionato che non sia legato al mouse, si sono accorti che nell’affare Tanal-VR46 qualcosa non va e che sta crollando il castello di sabbia e saliva con cui tutto è stato impastato e somministrato.
Of everything that was announced and then kicked forward for four months, like in the Holly and Benji cartoons where the game never ended, nothing has really happened yet. And trust that nothing will happen. The commitment for someone at the moment is to disappear for someone else is to get to work to try to stem a dud remedied after five months of deliberately blind and irresponsible behavior. The facts have always been on the table, and not seeing them has required some effort. If the skills employed had been managerial (they obviously don't exist) instead of something else, the problem would not even have arisen, instead ... perhaps the management is not there.
The many press conferences that never happened
There should have been an immediate conference in which both the fate of Valentino and some details about all the Italo-Saudi projects that had been so poorly planned (yet they had bought into them as a group) as to numb only those who were already dumb as they were.
The conference did not take place.
There was supposed to be a conference at which the Prince with the very long name and his "architect" adviser from Terni were to open the doors of the Saudi residence, but neither the day nor the place has been revealed. It would be to go to Ryadh and ring the Prince and ask if His Highness is there or at least Mr. Bernardini, his advisor, who instead seems to have gone into hiding, presumably in Umbria where he has always placed all his initiatives.
Ci sarebbe dovuta essere una conferenza di Misano in cui Rossi avrebbe dovuto comunicare il suo futuro, presumibilmente e possibilmente legato ad una sua ultima annata su moto italo-saudite, insieme al fratellastro Luca Marini e ai petrolsoldi.
Rossi si è invece ritirato in Austria, attraverso un commiato triste in una conferenza senza tavolino e senza quelli con cui ha sempre condiviso i suoi momenti sportivi.
Lì è stata fatta una prova. E’ stata invitata solo la stampa più malleabile e addomesticata. Nessuna domanda, infatti, sulla sponsorizzazione del secolo che avrebbe dovuto comprendere un team di MotoGP ma anche (la grandeur della truffa) anche l’acquisto della VR46 e dell’Accademy.Quella sarà l’audience della prossima conferenza stampa, vedrete. Poca gente che annuisce e lubrifica.
A questo punto, considerando che gli Arabi sembrano proprio non esserci, gli architetti ternani nemmeno e i petrolieri non ci sono mai stati, chi sponsorizzerà VR46 e per fare cosa e a che livello?
Ma soprattutto, visto che la conferenza in cui si aprono le porte del Principe non ha una data né un luogo (perché è inventata) e quella di Misano (legata al futuro di VR) è stata fatta in Austria, che conferenza dobbiamo aspettare? E per quando? Come dicono a Roma: de che dovemo parlà?
Niente Fantastic Trophy fra Gubbio e Rihad, niente moto elettriche ibride a quattro ruote, niente Accademy italo saudita, niente città del futuro, niente parchi a tema a parte quello costituito da un murales e un pollo di plastica gigante già fatto a Tavullia, niente hypercar Mazzanti da 1.111hp (che sappiatelo, non esiste), niente aziende italo-marocchino-coreane e nemmeno la Confartigianato di Terni che pare stia prendendo le distanze da certi soggetti, inclusi i plurifalliti che erano stati titolati e accreditati all’interno dei progetti inesistenti.
In the coming days, something will be attempted. On Wednesday there may be a semi-closed-door conference (only with the trusted) where the new justifications for not being completely ashamed will be packaged and distributed.
Somewhere there are those who are trying not to go to jail while in the press rooms there are those who are trying not to be tarred on the job for taking 4 1/2 months of deliberate blunders, although some are already turning the tables by saying that it had gotten there, that it couldn't be true, etc.
On the other hand, there are those who have to put up the money and who have already been trying to make up for something for a few weeks, we imagine, otherwise it means that we are looking at a Totò e Peppino-style management.
Noi li avevamo avvisati. E non è un modo di dire. Avevamo proprio telefonato a tutti i diretti interessati, uo ad uno,i proponendo dati, indagini materiali, e informazioni. Insomma aiuto. Ci avevano detto che andava tutto bene.
Abbiamo quasi voglia che qualcuno ci smentisca così possiamo esaminare tutto il materiale audio e video per renderci conto ancora meglio di cosa è successo e come.
The rumors emerging are that of a Ducati worried about the VR46 affair.
A Ducati now convinced of the deception by dl Tanal who is not there, Aramco who called off from day one, and the princes who do not appear. Not to mention the architects who are not architects and have gone, also, into hiding with the whole package. At least that's the way it appears.
Ducati è garantita da Dorna, si intende, che pagherà quei 5 milioni pattuiti e necessari, quindi la faccenda non è tragica, ma resta il fatto che 5 milioni non bastano. Ne servono altrettanti per fare tutte le cose che VR46 e Ducati avevano concordato, nel modo in cui avevano deciso di farlo. Va anche detto che sempre i soliti rumors parlano di una Ducati già allarmata da tempo, anche da prima degli articoli di chi scrive.
5 million for an official team, is not enough and therefore it remains to be understood, even assuming that we are willing and able to give up something, whether sponsors will be "recovered" by Dorna or a reshuffle will be made from what currently feeds the coffers of the VR46 teams. We are of course talking about SKY, WithU etc.
Queste sono le cose che dovrebbero essere chiarite in occasione della tanto attesa conferenza stampa che “sarebbe” stata annunciata per mercoledì prossimo e vi sarebbero stati invitati solo “giornalisti selezionati” fra cui ovviamente non c’è Misterhelmet che ha rotto tanto le scatole e quindi non è “selezionabile” né tanto meno gestibile.
Chi sarà seduto al tavolo della conferenza stampa, non è dato saperlo, basterà vedere i partecipanti per capire quale sarà la direzione finanziaria del team VR46.
L’idea è quella che non vedremo principi, emiri e petrolieri ma qualche sponsor di recupero, anche se Valentino Rossi, intervistato ieri, ha nuovamente dichiarato di essere uno che tende a fidarsi e che quindi, è tranquillo.
Come già sostenuto, è ovvio che il Team VR46 si farà, solo che magari ci sarà da stringere un po’ la cinghia.
DISCLAIMER Usually those who spoil parties are never nice and seem to do so out of envy, spite, or who knows what. Assuming that this is the case, that is, that we are indeed spoiling a party, it is good to clarify the meaning of this piece. The only purpose is to protect all those who might, as collateral victims, stumble upon a matter that is likely to be unclear. Obviously we believe in the good faith of all parties involved, but at the same time we would like to point out some doubts about the matter. Many things do not add up and we raise a flag. If we got something wrong, we are ready to rectify it. For the last time, we would be happy if this whole affair was a big misunderstanding.
All the documentation, recorded phone calls, emails and communications we have collected, is available to the Judiciary.
PROLOGUE
Since May 6 on this site we have been busy seeking information and clearing some doubts about the communicated partnership between Tanal Entertainment Sport and Media, and VR46 with the sponsorship of Aramco, for the 2022 MotoGP adventure on Ducati.
With the VR46 partnership statements still fresh, some doubts were already coming to light, unfortunately only on our part, related to the fact that, first of all, there were no signatures or quotation marks in the press release, and then the first denials from the oil company had already arrived.
FIRST DENIALS
More than three months, almost four, have passed since late April, and there have been two more denials. The first came in late June and the second, in Assen. The latter is really the heaviest, as it came from the mouth of the CEO of the oil company, Aramco Oversea, Al Murri.
Let us briefly give a summary history.
1) Denial by Aramco's press account, Adam Jibali, contact person for the Brunswick Group agency, which handles Aramco 's relations not in the UK but around the world.
"There is no strategic agreement between Aramco and VR46. There has never been any business relationship between Tanal Entertainment and Aramco." That alone would have been enough to worry about.
2) Some sites would later receive requests from Aramco Uk regarding the removal of the news of the Aramco deal from the news sites complete with a request for correction and with an official statement about Aramco 's absolute unrelatedness to VR46 and MotoGP. Few concerns here either, except from a handful of professionals, only foreigners.
3) To close, the CEO of Aramco Oversea, host of the Pramac team, would again and personally deny being involved in the deal. When the prince's words were allegedly pointed out to him, he would reply, "Do you know how many princes we have in Saudi Arabia?" A statement-an explanation that is hard to ignore.
It must be said, however, that Aramco could and could have made a little more effort to deny and say, on the record and once and for all, the same things it has been saying to various journalists face to face or mail to mail, in short, as it did to us.
These three boulders, with the addition of the latest denial that we also received directly from Brunswick Group on July 27, clarify Aramco 's point of view and downplay the repeated reassurances that allegedly came from the Saudi Prince. Arguably, despite the undoubted good faith, there is some distance between willingness to sponsor directly (through Aramco) or indirectly, by having Aramco go through Tanal Entertainment, and actually being able to do so lightly, ending up in the hull with certain brands. Provided everything is true, including the prince appearing in photographs alongside reassuring statements, but never in a video or in person.And allow us, everyone is free to have doubts and manifest them. Not least because Tanal Global Holding is one thing, and Tanal Entertainment Sport and media, another--and we will see that at least one of the two does not seem to exist.
SAUDI PRINCE'S ITALIAN ADVISER AND STRANGE PRESS OFFICE
We were recently contacted by the Prince's Councilor, Architect Marco Bernardini, who wanted us to make some clarifications, which, however, are nothing more than statements similar to those already issued through communiqués.
We point out that at the Order of Architects we could not find but one namesake in Liguria. "Our" Architect Marco Bernardini, we are not aware of.
Returning to the phone call, the architect was keen to illustrate how from the site Tanal and the network of releases, we could have inferred the goodness and absolute reliability of the initiative. Too bad the architect was not referring to Tanal Global Holding but to Tanal Entertainment, and there is no trace of the latter on the web.
We were later written to by Ms. Arianna Pasquale (we found no trace of her anywhere), Head Press Officer of Tanal Entertainment and Media, who, however, raised further doubts and perplexities in us. Let us see them.
EMAIL ADDRESS AND PRESS OFFICE
We found it quite peculiar that a multinational communications company with a dedicated site does not have a personalized email address, although in fact Tanal Entertainment does not have a site at all. The email came to us from tanalentertainment.press@gmail.com
This is unheard of in a similar field.
They make cities of the future and don't have a dedicated corporate email.
The same message, signed by Arianna Pasquale, contained no phone number, either personal or from the office.
The job of a press office is to get tracked down to provide information and clarification. This is not the case here.
The office has no address, email, landline, mobile, fax, etc. A website is not listed either. We went looking for it. And we did not find it.
Tanal Entertainment and Media is running several million-dollar partnerships with several international partners and has no website. We did, however, find that of Tanal Global Holding, which is also troubling.
Mail Press Office
DOUBTS ON THE WEBSITE OF MULTINATIONAL TANAL GLOBAL HOLDING
First, the mismatch between Tanal Entertainment and Tanal Global Holding. The website of Tanal Global Holdings with the S https://www.tanalglobalholdings.com/ is quite unique.
It is first of all made with a program for pre-packaged sites, specifically Jimdo. One can make a site there for a few euros by copying from various pre-packaged templates.
A multinational company that does billion-dollar projects did not contract a web agency to make its site. Quite unique.
And still it shows. The site is sloppily made.
Multilingualism is also not present. This is also quite strange for a multinational company that operates in 37 countries around the world.
THE NEWS IS NOT THERE
With all the high prestige and visibility initiatives, the news section is strangely under construction. Announcements are sent out, so the news would be there, but strangely it is not on the site. This is the first case of this kind for a high-level holding company. And also of a somewhat lower level.
President and Vice Presidents of Tanal Global Holdings are two Saudi princes whose names, however, are slightly different from those of the royal family found on Wikipedia, to be clear, even though they correspond to the owners of Tanal Entertainment Sport and Media.
It may happen that some transcripts are not quite identical.
We can overlook that as well.
There is a global network with a map and cities where the locations would be. However, there is not even an address to reach them. Not even an address of even one location. Yet we are talking about about 40 locations in 37 countries around the world, no continent excluded.
As advisor there is a name and a phone number.
No response to the call. As email address an email @tanalglobalholdings in the name Omar, and a gmail address.
Again, quite unique. Omar has an email with no last name in a multinational company.
Tanal News Section
A CLIENT PORTFOLIO WITHOUT CLIENTS
In the portfolio there is a list of activities in which Tanal is involved.
There are so many, but not a single client is listed in the client portfolio. Not a single specific initiative is listed among the many listed in the various releases. Quite unique.
Fra i partners presenti, ne abbiamo chiamati alcuni.
Di quelli che parlano inglese nessuno conosce Tanal ma un paio ci hanno già detto che è stata fatta loro questa domanda. Hanno chiesto a noi come mai. Forse è qualcuno che ha le nostre stesse curiosità.
GLOBAL SECTION OF THE SITES
Many offices in various countries have the same email address despite the fact that the contact persons are people with different names.
In various countries even far apart Omar always responds who has a gmail email address in common with other contact persons.
Strange this too however maybe these things happen.
The site's privacy policy is google's standard one, and it's not even customized for the referring site.
A bit of laziness, but it is still illegal. In Tanal they may not know this.
THE CURIOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS RECEIVED
Tanal, whether Global Holding or Entertainmente, does not appear to have carried out any activities prior to May.
All initiatives seem to start from that month, following the announcements of the agreement with VR46 in late April.
Only the latest activities may have been selected, but even on the web one can find almost nothing from before that period.
The first release we are going to talk about is the last one in chronological order regarding the upcoming (but it has already passed without having happened) participation of TANAL ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS & MEDIA WITH YAYA EVENTS AT THE ANDALUSIA RALLY 2021 TEST LIVE prologue of an unclear FANTASTIC TROPHY COMPETITION, which is supposed to be an intercontinental gaming competition mixed with hyper-realistic reality.
The connection is not clear but that's okay. The Andalusia Rally is a car event, though. On the photos, however, there is a gentleman who is supposed to be doing the Dakar on a motorcycle. The driver in question is also CEO of an Edutainment company that often appears in Tanal's press releases and partners. Jader Giraldi, is photographed next to a motorcycle but is participating in a car rally. Or so it is explained. Quite curious. Or we didn't understand it ourselves.
We tried to reach Mr. Giraldi but it was not posibiile to talk to him.
The list of various partners for the rest is quite clear: in addition to Tanal Entertainment Sport and Media we have Yaya Events, a company of the motorcyclist motorist, Maic Technologies, a specialist in biodetection systems.
All of these partners would be part of the Tiburtec technology hub , overseen by Architect Bernardini, the Prince's advisor, inside the Via Peroni headquarters in the Tiburtino Technopole, between Rome and Tivoli.
The location of the large, modern building also appears in the release, with all the logos of the many partner companies in plain view. The building, however, is a render, a graphic proof.
In reality the building exists, but on Google the color, the gardens, and the facade, which does not feature the company logos shown in the conunication, are slightly different.
We went to the site and indeed there is no logo on the facade. We spoke with some employees and the building's concierge and it was confirmed that none of the companies listed had ever resided within the complex or received mail. Or at least they, perhaps apart from Korean, do not know them. Not all companies need to be surveyed in a complex but then how come an untrue image was provided of a building that does not have those logos? What is the point of showing a counterfeit location?
The concierge and employees of the building assured us that the logos were never on the building, which instead are prominently displayed in the photo of Tiburtec included in Tanal's statement. For the record, Tiburtec is a real existing company but it administers condominiums.
Among the many companies mentioned, quite interesting is KMHG - Korean Moroccan Holding Group, an association of Moroccan expatriates in Korea, at least that's what we found, which is described as an expert in analytics.
It is a Holding Company which, however, barring our mistakes, we understand has only one employee. He must be a very good one who can do a lot of things. But being, that company, chaired by Marco Bernardini, we get the doubt that the architect is modest and does not want to appear too many times so as not to take too much credit.
Thus, somewhat surprisingly, the release also finds a place in the press release for the presentation of a project for a 4-wheel-drive hybrid motorcycle that should start from a video game and go on to a movie based on a book, and then be produced.
Tanal hybrid Moto
The video game we could not find. The book exists but we found no trace of the filming that should have been going on for a year in the city of Gubbio in addition to Rome, New York Jeddah, Riyadh and Moscow. For New York Moscow and other foreign cities we have given up but at the municipality of Rome and the municipality of Gubbio we have not found anyone aware that they have been shooting a film in their city for a year.
However, we are happy that the exclusive prototype motorcycle that will also be used on the set of the film called "Edward Loth - Najima The Fantastic City" produced by Tanal Entertainmet Sport & Media together with an Italian co-production and other international partners, based on the book by best-selling author Philip Osbourne, will kick off the mass production of the motorcycle in question designed by C Creative, a company owned by Claudio Castiglioni, in a factory located in Terni and managed by Giampiero Sacchi,the same person who at Mugello accompanied along with the VR46 men, architect Bernardini to Dorna by Carmelo Ezpeleta hoping that this project will have different results from those from the bankruptcy of Sacchi's Terni racing company, Ioda Racing, which unfortunately sees its assets subject to judicial auction and several people left without work and with payments to be received.
The bike however, though only a drawing, is beautiful and we hope it will actually be produced. Only thing: in another statement, also from Tanal, it is announced that the bike will instead be produced in Saudi Arabia.
There is some uncertainty. Someone tell that to Giampiero Sacchi, who may be preparing the plant in Terni.
For now, however, there is no great danger, since all the plans are future and nothing has been realized yet.
THE MAZZANTI SUPERCAR THAT DOESN'T EXIST YET
Somewhat simpler is the statement about the Mazzanti Evantra hyper car, which fortunately exists even if in earlier models and is produced in the number of 5 examples per year. In truth, since 2015 there have been no nameplate models. Only a few prototypes, at least that is how it seems to us.
Mazzanti is reported to have less than 10 employees with an annual personnel cost of about 81,000 euros. And so we assume that at Mazzanti, unless we are looking at exploitation, there should be just a couple of employees.
Returning to the car in the communiqué, of this model that does not yet exist, 57 are to be produced, by a factory that does not currently have a single license plate, in an upgraded 1111hp armored and fire-resistant version with inviolable anti-theft device. The cars will, of course, be produced in the future in a 275-thousand-square-meter plant also directed by Architect Bernardini, which will see the light of day in Saudi Arabia in the future and will employ hundreds of Arab engineers starting in the 2030s. A made in Italy made in Saudi Arabia. And it would be the first automobile factory in history located in one of those countries.
Evantra-MBS-ONE-1111-HP (render)
It is obviously all very interesting but also quite thrown forward in years, especially if we are talking about a hypercar.
In the meantime, however, the car will appear, not to mention, in the aforementioned film "Edward Loth - Najima The Fantastic City" and in various video games in the form of a flying tank in special effect mode since, as stated above, it does not exist. It all happens in that movie.
The good fortune, this time, is that on the Mazzanti Automobili website there is a reference to the communiquéeven though the words are the same as in Luxurious Magazine which itself reports the Tanal communiqué, as if Mazzanti is reporting the communiqué of others on its own initiative. "It looks like a Lotus," they say, but it is only a drawing. The car will be different. Mazzanti has not released information on this issue. We will have to wait a few years for the plant and then the cars to be produced. Patience is needed.
In the meantime, however, Tanal sends out his proclamations and the press takes them up confidently, and with partnerships declared and taken up by the press, it is a little easier to find other partnerships.
FANTASTIC TROPHY COMPETITION
In one of the releases regarding the association with VR46, in fact, perhaps one of the least read since it does not speak directly about Motogp, there is another rather curious initiative that deserves attention: the FANTASTIC TROPHY COMPETITION, defined as a new two-wheel sports competition designed by
Tanal Entertainment Sports & Media to create a new competition format with unique features. Unlike the best-known competitions, the release reads, Fantastic Trophy Competition uses two different types of courses: in the desert in Saudi Arabia and on dirt roads in Italy. As in all Tanal initiatives it starts in Umbria and ends in Saudi Arabia doing the Paris Dakar in a sort of Riad.
The format of the competition, the release continues, is similar to a video game: immersed in reality, using the interaction between two wheels, satellites, drones, hot air balloons; real-time interaction with the stable in the field and the audience at home. The use of advanced virtual reality, communication and navigation technologies, interactive platforms for digital and telemetry stream management will be provided by Korean Moroccan Holding Group, in collaboration with leading Korean players in the industry.
Let us not forget, however, that the Korean Moroccan Holding Group, turns out to be an association of Moroccan emigrants in Korea and has, if we are not mistaken, only one employee, its president, architect Bernardini, who of course if he believes can correct and disprove our claims. Not to mention that the telematic flows in other releases were entrusted to Maic.
Keep these two companies in mind.
However, in this case from a time perspective we are lucky because the final format will be presented by September 2021 and then, the release says, could announce a test race from November to December on two routes, one Italian and one Saudi.
One in KSA - in the desert from Fantastic City, which still as a city we remember, does not exist to KAEC on the Red Sea - and one on off-road tracks in Italy, starting in Tavullia, Gubbio and Terni, where MAIC Technologies is designing and building the first prototype four-wheel-drive off-road motorcycle with hybrid, thermal and electric propulsion, while plant production is planned in Saudi Arabia. Here there is a problem with an earlier release since the motorcycle seemed to be destined, as production in Terni. And Maic Technologies, according to another communiqué, we understood to be engaged in biometric sensing activities and not motorcycle production. From one release to another, MAIC and KMHG switched roles.
Fantastic Trophy Competition, the statement continues, will be a real hub for the selection of young Saudi riders, whose talent can emerge with the valuable support of VR46.
I wonder if in Saudi Arabia they know about this all-Italian opportunity to become like Valentino, Morbidelli and Bezzecchi as they race followed by drones, satellites and hot air balloons and audiences from home, on a four-wheel-drive hybrid motorcycle that will be built in the next few years in Saudi Arabia itself, or in Terni.
Following in the communiqué is praise for the Saudi Prince and Moroccan-Korean companies, chaired by Architect Bernardini, a recognized representative of Korean technology and Italian creativity. Of the latter, the communiqués are not lacking because of the efforts in urban planning, construction, technology and academia, there is no project actually implemented yet. And we hope that the Saudi prince will not be upset about this.
On the remaining communiqués regarding the specific agreements between Tanal Global and VR46, those with KSA New Cities AND ARAMCO as the target, little to add except that they all present the same stereotypes: projects yet to be realized, statements yet to be verified, one-sided communiqués, and partner companies appearing, always the same, in all the projects communicated by Tanal. And the one sponsor, ARAMCO, who no longer knows how to deny it.
For the rest, he was right, Architect Bernardini when he told me on his phone call that by well analyzing the network of news, releases and initiatives, the numbers would indeed add up.
The common thread is him: Marco Bernardini, administrator of Terni-based Systech, a company that makes electrical panels (so the web reports, since the company has no website), with a passion for Saudi Arabia, formerly resigned construction manager of Terni's Cardeto Park, and a proponent as a bystander of electric motorcycle projects that wanted to participate in the MotoE championship in 2017 (they didn't make it) and in later years of electric racing cars that never came to life, multifunctional energy towers that never went up, and Saudi smart cities that have yet to be built, with projects that have been thrown into the future for a few years but then, when the future arrives, are never seen. Another thing that leaves us doubtful is the fact that there is no record at the Architectural Association of Architect Marco Bernardini. There is a namesake of his but he has a practice in Liguria. We hope he is at least a surveyor. We can of course be wrong and are ready for any correction.
WHO IS LIKELY TO BE HARMED?
In all this web of events, communiqués and companies, the one who risks losing out is VR46 , which seems to be more used than sponsored. We called VR46 in the person of Uccio Salucci who, very courteously, confirmed the partnership with Tanal and to have already active sponsorships in CIV and CEV, with related financial support and fairing sponsors but, following our further requests, he directed us to Alberto Tebaldi who, however, busy, promised to call us back. We have been waiting for several days.
In addition to VR46, in an obviously marginal position, there is also. Ducati, which will have to provide two official bikes as well as technicians and engineers. Obviously the company is not in danger but there could still be some image damage or some element to reconsider.
As for Dorna , which is in danger of not being able to count on the flow of money that such a lavish sponsorship should bring, it will obviously make its contribution to the team, but it is clear that it would be faced with an uphill project that would have to seek another sponsorship, at this point, last minute.
In short, we are sure that the VR46 MotoGP team will happen and it will also be a success. Princes, fixers, oilmen-we believe it's all true. The only thing that does not add up for us is referring to the credentials so far exhibited by its sponsor. Which we will be glad to disprove.
IMPORTANT UPDATE
This article has been ready for a few days, about a week. We asked for clarification and gave it time to respond but received very aggressive approaches as well as unhinged reactions.
On Saturday, July 31, it came out on the important website GPONE an article regarding the launch of a press conference to be held in Riad although, uncharacteristically for such a release, the date is missing. We are sure GPONE will have done its due diligence. To us, however, it still doesn't add up.
There is a video in the release that is again a render and depicts the building made in the shape of an F1 car. What does this have to do with Tanal?
Also missing is ARAMCO in addition to SIg. Bernardini and the sponsors have become POTENTIAL.
What is that supposed to mean? Someone help us out here.
Non è un segreto che Rossi dovrebbe annunciare cose importanti entro brevissimo.
Riguardano il suo futuro e quello del team VR46 di cui è previsto il debutto in MotoGP nel 2022.
Per quanto riguarda il pilota, le dichiarazioni di inizio campionato parlavano di quattro-cinque gare di tempo per capire se VR sarebbe stato ancora competitivo e, da lì, le decisioni.
Possiamo dire senza paura di essere smentiti che le prime quattro uscite sono state un vero disastro e che quindi, dovendo mantenere le promesse per Valentino Rossi non ci dovrebbe essere nessuna stagione 2022 da pilota.
Resta da capire se il dottore finirà la stagione o la concluderà addirittura anzitempo, magari compiendo il “beau geste” di girarla al “suo” Morbidelli.
Difficile che accada. Troppi sponsor, accordi, situazioni sospese. Però potrebbe essere.
Altra opzione è che, considerato un Mugello senza pubblico, il dottore decida di annunciare qualcosa a Misano, che è casa sua, e che potrebbe consentirgli i giusti omaggi da parte della tifoseria. A Misano potrebbe arrivare una notizia fondamentale.
In realtà a Misano potrebbe arrivare anche qualcos’altro, ovvero qualcosa che riguarda le moto con cui il team VR46 correrà la prossima stagione.
In pole position, a distanziare le altre concorrenti, c’è Ducati. Sarebbe comodo per tutto il sistema, i piloti rimarrebbero quelli attuali del team Avintia (che scomparirà), al netto eventuale di Bastianini (nel caso non andasse in Pramac).
Insomma una situazione comoda e discretamente competitiva. Sicuramente meno destabilizzante di una lotta con Petronas per ottenere le Yamaha, e sicuramente più prestigiosa di una partnership con Aprilia, dato che a Noale si sono dimostrati disponibili ma si sono dichiarati ancora non pronti per un accordo così.
I veneti dovrebbero prediligere una liason con il team Gresini, fatta di storicità e di cuore, e quindi niente VR.
Alla fine, quindi, Misano, con i dati di Le Mans e del Mugello, sarà una data chiave per Valentino Rossi e per la sua struttura.
Dovrebbero arrivare finalmente gli annunci che tutti attendono… inclusa un po’ di chiarezza in merito alla partnership con Tanal e Aramco, annunciata e poi sapientemente silenziata da protagonisti e media.
Why did the news about the VR46 team fade as it jumped to the headlines?
How come VR declared the existence of an agreement to bring VR46 to MotoGP in partnership with Aramco but no one really asked the Saudi oil giant about it?
Indeed, how come the Saudi oil giant later and on its own initiative declared that it was unaware of the news?
Iniziamo il pezzo con tre domande. Già il fatto che ce le poniamo, significa che siamo davanti a qualcosa di atipico.
Però partiamo con il presupposto che ci possiamo sbagliare e abbiamo capito male… e quindi chiediamoci come mai a Jerez sia venuta fuori una notizia così: VR46 in MotoGP già dal 2022 con Aramco. Nessuno ha pensato, vista la dimensione della notizia e il fatto che non sia stata smentita dall’interessato presente, che potesse essere una bufala. Con la stampa sportiva che abbiamo, non mi meraviglio. Ma quella finanziaria?
The press release referred to stated that the project would be financed with money from Saudi Arabia, specifically from the interest of the oil giant Aramco, although the release itself came from Tanal Entertainment, a holding company owned by Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Suad, a member of the Saudi royal family. So too big a name to be questioned ... but it is also true that we still start from the fact that someone is talking about Aramco but Aramco itself is not doing it. This is not normal.
A press release was issued ahead of the Jerez GP stating that VR46 team owned and operated by Valentino Rossi himself-would make the move to the full-time MotoGP World Championship in 2022. OK, that's fine. VR46 can announce whatever it wants.
Un comunicato così non può non essere preso sul serio e non può essere messo in dubbio però, la stessa Aramco, avrebbe affermato di non essere a conoscenza di alcun contratto. E qui va un po’ meno bene.
In the end, what is missing in the statement are quotes from both sides in addition to financial details. This is unheard of for such a situation.
It's as if a yet-to-be-completed document has leaked out. Too bad, however, that it is not a leak because it was one of the parties involved that released and confirmed it.
Nessuno poi, per riverenza o sudditanza mediatica ha pensato di incalzare lo stesso Valentino Rossi che ha dichiarato: “Sappiamo che abbiamo un accordo con Aramco per fare la squadra … ” “…Non so sinceramente perché Aramco dice che non lo sanno! “. E qualcuno avrebbe dovuto chiedere: ma l’accordo c’è o no? O ce l’hai o non ce l’hai. Altrimenti sembra come quando alle elementari tu sei fidanzato con una bambina ma lei non lo sa.
Chiunque altro sarebbe stato messo spalle al muro per un’eventuale fesseria ma non è stato questo il caso.
Sia chiaro, non sarebbe il primo caso di team fuffa.
E’ successo in un sacco di casi che team partiti sulla base di collaborazioni addirittura governative si siano rivelati una fregatura internazionale.
Basti pensare al team JR Racing, quello legato in Superbike alla Repubblica Dominicana e a Troy Corser, tirato in mezzo e sfruttato per mettere in piedi una mezza sòla, come si dice a Roma. Una fregatura.
Oppure al team Onde 2000 della Guinea Equatoriale in cui c’era di mezzo addirittura un governo. Però erano altri tempi e c’erano di mezzo altre entità.
In realtà le truffe fatte bene sono quelle in cui vengono spesi nomi talmente grossi da non poter essere messi in dubbio.
Noi però continuiamo sul nostro ragionamento “neutro”.
Nessuno dubita che VR46 stia pensando di sbarcare in MotoGP.
Nessuno dubita che vi riuscirà.
Chiunque sia un minimo informato però sa che questo deve accadere nel 2022, anno di scadenza degli slot in griglia.
Parliamo adesso di Aramco, che è spuntata fuori all’improvviso… supportando F1, Formula E e Dakar. Ma prima?
E’ proprio lo splendore recente che ha attirato l’attenzione nei confronti di situazioni “un po’ saudite” come queste.
Alcune organizzazioni umanitarie come Grant Liberty hanno evidenziato che l’Arabia Saudita come nazione, sotto i riflettori per accuse di mancato rispetto dei diritti umani, sarebbe sin troppo spesso protagonista di un’attività che si chiama “sport washing”… che vede l’investimento sportivo ed edilizio come ricerca di quella reputazione persa per altre ragioni.
Il calcio è pieno di evidenze come queste mentre il motorsport, almeno nelle due ruote, ci sta avendo a che fare da poco (vedi news relative al nuovo circuito di Mandalika, Indonesia, progetto accusato di essere sporcato dal mancato rispetto dei diritti umani dei locali).
Insomma quella che sembra essere solo una bella cosa (e sicuramente lo è), a molti fa storcere un po’ il naso.
All’estero, però. Da noi va sempre tutto bene.
Pensandoci, il mega progetto sembra tanto convenire a VR46, che trova uno sponsor per fare quello che vuole fare da sempre… eppure alla fine rischia di convenire soprattutto ai sauditi, dato che a livello internazionale (in Italia non ci si azzarda), VR46 è stata molto criticata per la partnership.
"Especially Aramco in recent years has supported many sports other than soccer and is also very much in motorsport. It also supports Formula 1. It is an important partner for us and can help us team up in MotoGP." Rossi said.
But does Rossi know who he is about to deal with?
More importantly: does Aramco know that it has an ongoing partnership with Rossi?
The answer would seem to be a double no.
What if instead someone is trying to cheat the parties involved?
Come on, that's not possible...but here, stop it!
You know all those activities listed on the sidelines, but not too much either, of the partnership between VR46 and Tanal, the ones that talk about building projects, theme parks, etc.?
Maybe it all starts from there.
Sulla tuta di Marco Bezzecchi – pilota Moto2 di VR46 sono comparse patch con dicitura “KSA New Cities”.
E questo vuol dire che VR46 sta già degustando un mini antipasto di quello che dovrebbe essere il buffet saudita completo.
Oppure che qualcuno stia cercando di raggirare VR46 convincendola, grazie al mini antipasto di cui sopra, di una effettiva partnership in atto… di cui però gli interessati (Aramco) non sono a conoscenza anche se è stato speso il loro nome.
E se si fossero salvati tutti proprio per il fatto di essersi lasciati scappare la cosa?
Ci rendiamo conto che qualcuno forse si è portato un po’ avanti con l’immaginazione e con il business e che quindi è tutto appoggiato un po’ alla buona?
Cioè tipo che la stessa Petronas, colosso vero con soldi veri, si stia giocando le due Yamaha con VR46 la quale ha una partnership con un petroliere che ha dichiarato di non saperne nulla?
Chiaramente se ci sbagliamo qualcuno ci invii il comunicato di ARAMCO datato week end di Jerez.
Dopo ok, vuol dire che è cambiato qualcosa… ma la settimana scorsa perché nessuno ha chiesto conto della mancanza di comunicati o addirittura non si è insospettito davanti alle smentite di uno dei due partner?
Team Gresini alla fine dovrebbe farcela ad andare in MotoGP, adeguatamente supportato da Dorna, anche in base alle dichiarazioni esplicite di Carmelo Ezpeleta. Indonesian Racing, sponsor della squadra di Fausto, vorrebbe Ducati per far correre Fabio di Giannantonio.
Il romano infatti ha già un contratto in mano e rimarrebbe giustamente legato alla squadra anche nella classe regina.
But the issue of most interest is the one related to VR46.
Valentino Rossi 's team has a mega partnership with the Tanal group, but also with Hyundai and Withu, the energy giant that already appears on Tavullia's bikes.
Also watering the whole thing, of course, is Monster, theenergy drink linked to the doctor.
Rossi 's team could be called VR46 Aramco and will have interests ranging therefore in beverage, energy, automotive but also in ambitious construction projects underway in Saudi and Asian countries. The capital is foreign but there is a lot of Italian in the design.
Those who would leave would be SKY, which without TV rights would have little interest in investing so heavily in a racing team. But that remains to be seen.
On the track, then, the Moto2 and MotoGP teams would remain.
Per quanto riguarda le moto, la situazione sembrerebbe sbrogliarsi.
Suzuki non è pronta, quindi fumata nera. Con Yamaha non c’è una grande armonia… e quindi anche qui non ci sarebbe spazio.
Anche Ducati non sarebbe una scelta amica, dato che ha già fatto capire di voler investire su Bastianini, che potrebbe serenamente prendere il posto di Zarco, il quale andrebbe a rimpiazzare l’insoddisfacente (a meno di stravolgimenti nel corso della stagione) Jack Miller.
Sarebbe per questo motivo che Rossi starebbe navigando in direzione Noale, anche perché la moto adesso inizia ad andare forte e non è più una scelta così esotica. Certo gli investitori preferirebbero una Ducati, ma è pur sempre made in Italy…e a Rossi interessa poter piazzare Luca Marini, e potersi riservare di decidere se fare un’altra stagione (romantica) a fianco del fratello.
Sarebbe una chiusura di carriera sulla stessa moto con cui ha iniziato. Una vera e proprio ciclo che termina.
L’altra opportunità potrebbe essere, nel caso il dottore decidesse per il ritiro, quella di collocare sulla moto veneta Franco Morbidelli, qualora Yamaha decidesse di non fornirgli un trattamento da “ufficiale”.
Del resto Morbidelli può anche aspettare dato che non è uno di quelli che fa fatica a trovare una sella.
All of this conditional because we are obviously in the valley of wild guesses.
Just some reasoning... and yet...
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