Last year’s Moto3 world championship runner-up, Tony Arbolino, will race for Marc VDS in Moto2 in 2022.

The 21-year-old Italian is currently 16th in the intermediate class championship, riding for Intact GP.

The move will take him to the team which won the first two Moto2 races of 2021, courtesy of Sam Lowes.

“It is a great pleasure for me to welcome to our team a young and talented rider like Tony Arbolino,” said team owner Marc van der Straten.

“We are very motivated to accompany him in his growth in the Moto2 class and to be able to enjoy great success together.

“We know he has great potential and a strength to compete and stand up to any opponent.

“We are eager to embark on this new adventure together with a rider who shares our philosophy and way of doing things.”

Arbolino, who has three Moto3 race wins to his name, added, “I’m really very happy to be part of this project.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to improve and keep moving forward in my career.

“I chose this team precisely because I think it is one of the best in the category and the connection I felt was immediate. They wanted me and I wanted them, and this is something very important for me.

“I needed this change, and I am proud that Marc van der Straten and his team have trusted me to represent them.

“I will do my best to show my talent and I will work hard to get the best possible results.

“The goal will be to fight consistently with the fastest riders in the category and be battling for podiums and victories.”

Arbolino’s deal means that at least one of Lowes or Augusto Fernandez is on the move from Marc VDS.

The latter has been linked to a switch to Red Bull KTM Ajo, which has two seats to fill in its Moto2 programme due to the graduations of both Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez.

Jack Miller spent the 2016 and 2017 MotoGP seasons at Marc VDS, during which time he won the Dutch TT, before the team dropped out of the premier class at the end of 2018.