diff --git a/roles/copr/backend/files/resalloc_provision/vm-aarch64-delete b/roles/copr/backend/files/resalloc_provision/vm-aarch64-delete
index fc28123006..781cc160c4 100755
--- a/roles/copr/backend/files/resalloc_provision/vm-aarch64-delete
+++ b/roles/copr/backend/files/resalloc_provision/vm-aarch64-delete
@@ -16,13 +16,8 @@ esac
 
 repeat()
 {
-    counter=0
-    while :; do
-        counter=$(echo "1 + $counter" | bc)
-        "$@"
-        test $? -eq 0 && break
-        # give up?
-        test "$counter" -ge 3 && break
+    for _ in a b c; do
+        "$@" && break
         sleep 15
     done
 }