VR46 Academy, another new talent: 14-year-old Leonardo Casadei joins Valentino Rossi's ranks

After Lorenzo Pritelli, 2025 CIV PreMoto3 champion and fielded for three ETC JuniorGP rounds, here’s another interesting new name for Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Academy. It’s Leonardo Casadei, a Romagna native born in 2011, who has now joined the group led by the 9-time MotoGP World Champion. A young rider who has been a standout for years in the smaller ESBK classes, the Spanish championship: in 2023 he finished 2nd on his Moto5 debut and last year he wrapped up 3rd overall in Moto4. This year he made his debut in the Talent category, finishing 11th overall, one of the top performers for Team IGAX-Snipers, the result of a collaboration between the Spanish outfit, with whom Casadei had already raced, and Mirko Cecchini’s squad in the Moto3 World Championship (we talked about it here).

Beyond the riders already in the World Championship, the focus turns again to young talents. There’s plenty of satisfaction about this agreement, as stated by Carlo Casabianca, CEO of the VR46 Riders Academy. “We are very happy to welcome Leo into the Academy,” he emphasized at the time of the announcement. “We dedicate a lot of attention to nurturing young talents, and in Leonardo we’ve identified the right foundations to embark on a great journey together.”

Satisfaction also from the 14-year-old from Romagna: 2026 plans are yet to be revealed, but in the meantime comes the first official news about his future. “Joining the Academy has always been my dream, and now it has finally become reality,” said Casadei. “Thanks to Vale, Carlo, and the entire staff, I’ll have a concrete opportunity to work towards reaching the World Championship. I want to thank my entire family and everyone who helped me get to this milestone, aware that the hard work starts right now.”