Fausto Gresini has passed away following a long battle with Covid-19 The Italian, former double 125cc World Champion in 1985 and 1987 and highly successful MotoGP team manager was initially placed in an induced coma with assisted breathing but began to show signs of improvement in January his condition deteriorated in recent weeks when he was placed back into a coma as he battled respiratory illness and pneumonia caused by Covid-19 Along with his two 125cc World Championship titles as a rider Gresini’s eponymous team Gresini Racing was hugely successful in its own right and the Gresini team took a World Championship for the first time in 2001 with Japanese rider Daijiro Kato as the two dominated the 250cc class together Further championships came in 2010 in Moto2 with Toni Elias and 2018 in Moto3 with Jorge Martin as well as 2019 as the team won the inaugural Enel MotoE World Cup with Matteo Ferrari The teams that bear his name will compete across all three classes of the MotoGP World Championship in 2021 Gresini has teamed with Aprilia to run the factory outfit with riders Aleix Espargaro “I’m deeply saddened by the loss of Fausto,” said Carmelo Ezpeleta MotoGP commercial rights holder Dorna Sports CEO “He was a very good friend and I liked him a lot I have been following the news on his condition closely and I was lucky enough to be able to speak to him even as he was in hospital I am so very sorry to suffer a loss like this in the paddock and I want to send my deepest condolences to his family Tributes have poured in from every corner of the motorcycle racing world for the Italian legend and Cycle News joins them in sending our condolences to Gresini’s family HRC are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Fausto Gresini at 60 years old a man who achieved great heights as a rider and as a team owner Fausto Gresini made his World Championship debut in 1983 in the 125cc class where he would race his entire career as a lightweight specialist Taking the World Championship in 1985 and 1987 Gresini would join Honda in 1990 until his retirement from racing in 1994 he claimed three wins and twice finished as World Championship runner-up Just a few years later Fausto Gresini would return to the paddock as a satellite Honda team owner in the premier class with Alex Barros His team would expand in the coming years to compete in both the 500cc and 250cc classes achieving a first World Championship as a team owner in 2001 with Daijiro Kato on the Honda NSR250 from 2003 to 2005 a Gresini Honda rider finished as the MotoGP World Championship runner up twice with Sete Gibernau and then with Marco Melandri Fausto worked with a number of iconic riders including Colin Edwards Gresini’s Moto3 effort has been able to challenge consistently for the World Championship and in 2018 Jorge Martin took the Honda NSF250RW to the top of the standings HRC would like to thank Fausto for his years of collaboration as a rider Fausto Gresini will acknowledge that his efforts to create non-factory racing teams over three decades has been a constant struggle against a number of tides Gresini has always wanted to run a purely Italian team with Italian riders and joyful Italian sponsors Gresini has experienced few highs and numerous lows watching his teams compete for titles in the various classes of grand prix racing Gresini has always had to divide his time between overseeing his techs and riders while charming sponsors to sign on the dotted line these sponsors have included names such as Elf the big Italian chip manufacturer – snacks not integrated circuits – from 2008 through 2012 his teams produced two world champions: Daijiro Kato in the 250cc class in 2001 and Toni Elias in 2010 – and the tragic loss of their two top riders: Kato in 2003 and Marco Simoncelli in 2011 Despite Fausto Gresini’s best efforts has been followed twice by tragedy that has put his program into the state in which it now exists Gresini’s career as a grand prix rider spanned 12 years beginning as a 22 year-old rookie in 1983 aboard a 125cc Morbidelli His team switched to Garelli machinery midway through the 1984 season continuing his affiliation with the Italian manufacturer through 1988 and winning world championships in 1985 and 1987 He rode for Aprilia in 1989 before switching finishing second in the 125ccc class to Loris Capirossi in 1991 with another frustrating second-place finish the following year to Alessandro Gramigni before hanging up his leathers for good after the 1994 season During his riding career he accumulated 47 podia as he won the first 10 races of the year before crashing out at Estoril on his way to the championship Gresini fully understood what it would take to put together his own championship-caliber team After three years of planning and sponsor-hunting the Honda Gresini Racing Team made its 500cc debut in 1997 with veteran journeyman Alex Barros onboard the NSR500V The team was competitive if not compelling jettisoned Barros and dropped down to the 250cc class ended the season in third position after having posted the team’s first three wins The hiring of young hotshot Japanese rider Daijiro Kato in 2000 led to an encouraging third-place finish in 2000 followed by Kato’s dominating performance in 2001 winning the 250cc world championship running away Gresini took the leap in 2002 and formed a second team to compete in the premier class where he had a reasonably successful rookie year in 2002 finishing in 7th place and setting the stage for what was expected to be an exciting 2003 MotoGP campaign Gresini folded up his 250cc team in order to focus on winning a premier-class title The collective optimism never got out of the gate Kato suffered a high-speed crash during the first race of the 2003 MotoGP season at the Japanese Grand Prix held at Suzuka spending two weeks in a coma before succumbing to his injuries the Suzuka Circuit no longer hosts Grand Prix racing Sete Gibernau finished second for the year in 2003 and 2004 with boy toy Marco Melandri taking second in 2005 before fading to 4th in 2006 and 5th in 2007 Despite getting creamed by Valentino Rossi by 147 points Melandri’s flirtation with the premier-class title in 2005 had whetted Fausto’s appetite for more and Gresini hired journeyman Toni Elias as his #2 Unsatisfied with the team’s performance in 2006 and 2007 firing Melandri and Elias and bringing in Shinya Nakano and Alex de Angelis for an even more frustrating 2008 campaign de Angelis teamed with Elias and delivered 7th- and 8th-place finishes Gresini doubled down again entering 2010 with Melandri and former 250cc world champion Marco Simoncelli running in the premier class and demoting Elias to the new Moto2 team alongside that rarest of MotoGP items a Russian rider by the name of Vladimir Ivanov and hired Elias away for 2011 where he returned to form Marco Simoncelli was one of four former 250cc world champions who gained promotions to MotoGP in 2010 gangly goofy-looking Italian free spirit who in 2008 had managed to wrap his 6-foot frame around the 250cc Gilera tightly enough to take the championship Gresini signed the charismatic loose cannon to a two-year premier class contract in 2010 during which Simoncelli finished in 8th place The Italian spent most of the 2010-2011 off-season testing sessions near the top of the charts In addition to a for-real competitive MotoGP team of Simoncelli on the #1 bike and Aoyama on the #2 he was looking at a promising Moto2 team featuring Michele Pirro and Yuki Takahashi ruling the headlines but occasionally a hazard to himself and those around him began the 2011 season showing promise on the factory-supported RC213V but crashing out of three of the first six races ruining the season of Dani Pedrosa at Le Mans getting chippy with Lorenzo at a press conference in Italy and slugging it out in the media with Albert Puig got things turned around in the second half of the 2011 season His second-place finish at Phillip Island showed him capable of taking podia on a regular basis the routine-looking lowside crash that ended with Rossi and/or Colin Edwards running over the prostrate Italian The personal tragedy was accompanied by a corporate disaster as the rug had suddenly and violently been pulled out from under the Gresini team and its Italian sponsors San Carlo would stick around for another year in which the team was left with Spanish underachiever Alvaro Bautista who was the only credible rider available late in the 2011 season was never Gresini’s first choice on any count – ethnic performance history – never did much with the Italian’s beloved factory-supported Honda (5th in 2012 unfeasible for Gresini to field a Honda-affiliated team in 2015 This coincided with Aprilia’s decision to enter the MotoGP fray a year earlier than had been previously announced anxious to field a two-man factory team in 2015 under the direction of Gresini and giving themselves a year to adjust to the program before Michelin enters in 2016 with the new line of MotoGP tires stuck with the increasingly dysfunctional Bautista microscopic Melandri in early November to ride the second glued-together Aprilia factory entry in 2015 as Melandri appeared ready to be a victim of corporate Aprilia’s decision to support MotoGP at the expense of a highly successful World Superbike program that had produced titles in 2010 The MotoGP team has struggled mightily early in 2015 Bautista retired with mechanical issues courtesy of a rough pass by Marc Marquez on the first lap of the season-opening round in Qatar and Melandri finished almost two minutes behind race winner Valentino Rossi in 21st place Bautista bettered his results at the next round finishing 15th at the Grand Prix of The Americas in Texas while it was Melandri’s turn to not score any points At round three in Argentina the Aprilia duo finished 19th and 20th Bautista scored two more 15th place finishes at the last two rounds in Spain and France The hypercompetitive Fausto Gresini is surely frustrated with his team’s lack of pace thus far but a new seamless gearbox slated to debut this weekend at Mugello might be an upgrade that helps change the Aprilia RS-GP’s fortunes despite brutal events which trashed the fabric of two separate teams and through a financial crisis that continues in Italy finds himself today heading up a factory Aprilia team fronting two glued-together bikes while it develops a new from-the-bottom-up prototype for 2016 Losing chief engineer Gigi Dall’Igna to Ducati Corse seems in retrospect to have been pennywise and pound foolish Gresini is still stuck with Bautista and an aging and reluctant Melandri whose grizzled features and extensive tenure are being jocked as helpful to Bautista who has proven himself mostly un-coachable since winning the 2006 championship in the 125cc class always super-concerned with his appearance and less with his performance had managed to finish twice in 13th place for the factory Suzuki program in 2010 and 2011 and as a seriously underachieving factory-spec Honda rider for Gresini in 2012 through 2014 6th and 11th place finishes for the name sponsors in those years If Fausto Gresini has anything to say about it Aprilia will come out in 2016 with an Italian name sponsor a totally new bike and a new Italian rider to replace Bautista Gresini would love to have an aggressive young Italian willing and able to compete with a grid adjusting to new electronics and new tires in 2016 Gresini’s survived the loss of two riders and more sponsors than most people can name riding herd on a group of paisano gearheads trying to glue together a credible effort for the home team in 2015 and beyond Are Fausto Gresini’s salad days behind him Is he still in position to enjoy himself and get some visceral return on the investment of his time and effort as a year-round owner and operator Perhaps he’s developed the perspective to accept his position in the corporate superstructure of a team as well as his prospects for achieving his goals which haven’t changed in those 28 years “elevate them gunsights a little lower boys,” understanding where he currently stands in the scheme of GP racing a world in which there are the haves and the havenots Does Fausto Gresini have a right to feel jinxed Does Gresini have a realistic chance of coming back in 2016 with a competitive Aprilia factory team Is Gresini fully engaged in making things happen with his new team Would he do it all over again in much the same way And he surely would give anything to have Kato and Simoncelli back More by Bruce Allen Too bad that new transmission doesn't seem to be helping much (ANS - Cachoeira Paulista) - The Community of Canção Nova who passed away at his home in Cachoeira Paulista Abib was one of the religious who most distinguished himself in the evangelization efforts of the Catholic Church in Latin America using the media and organizing major evangelization events Abib had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment for multiple myeloma since May 2021 and passed away due to respiratory failure In addition to being the founder of the Community of Canção Nova Abib was President of the John Paul II Foundation parent entity of the Canção Nova Communication System and the Canção Nova Social Development Network and Rector of the Shrine of the Father of Mercies in Cachoeira Paulista and editor for the portal and magazine "Canção Nova," he served as Vice President of the Executive Board of the International Catholic Fraternity a body attached to the Pontifical Council for the Laity of the Holy See and was one of the members of the National Council of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Brazil (RCC) A well-known author of homilies and a landmark in Catholic music he moved to Lavrinhas to begin studies in the Salesian Congregation He studied Philosophy at the Salesian Institute of Philosophy and Pedagogy in Lorraine and Theology at the Salesian Theological Institute "Pius XI" in São Paulo choosing as his motto "I did everything for everyone." He began his work with young people by promoting meetings and retreats for boys and girls in São Paulo; after joining the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in 1971 he became even more committed to working with young people he founded the Canção Nova Community with the mission to evangelize by communicating Jesus and the new life he came to bring Two years later he inaugurated "Rádio Canção Nova," in Cachoeira Paulista (SP) and "TV Canção Nova" in 1989 Jonas Abib had the opportunity to meet Pope John Paul II an encounter that represented for him the confirmation of his mission In 2006 he received the "Santa Clara Award" from the Brazilian Catholic Bishops' Conference for his documentary on the Second Vatican Council he had the DVD "Como é linda a nossa família" (How beautiful is our family) recorded containing the show recorded at the theater of the Military Academy "Agulhas Negras" in Resende 2008 to mark the 30th anniversary of the Community It was a work that collected some of the songs symbolic of the community's journey in Catholic music he received the title of "monsignor" from the Vatican at the request of Msgr in whose territory Canção Nova has its headquarters It was a recognition of the relevant services he rendered to the Church and the people of God In January 2010 he celebrated the admission of Canção Nova into the Salesian Family approved by the General Council of the Salesians in Rome The final pontifical recognition of the Catholic community took place on June 29 the dedication ceremony of the Shrine of the Father of Mercies was held in Canção Nova Jonas Abib's priesthood was also celebrated Another title he received was that of Doctor Honoris Causa in Pastoral Communication awarded to him by the Salesian Catholic University Center Auxilium - UniSalesiano Jonas Abib taught that holiness is an urgency and he spent it until his last moment to live in the perspective "Either saints or nothing"; and during the exercise of his priestly ministry sweat and tears" for the salvation of souls It is written in the conclusion of the communiqué sent out for this occasion by Canção Nova: "The entire body of Canção Nova clings together in this moment of sorrow for the loss of its spiritual father the great creator of this Work that today has more than 1,300 members scattered throughout Brazil and abroad the Community and all those who are part of the Canção Nova family reaffirm their hope in the Resurrection (...) Canção Nova is grateful for the affection and condolences for the loss of dear Msgr and will work even harder so that his precious and countless teachings may reach more and more people so that they may experience a personal encounter with Jesus just as he did and never tired of bearing witness." Sources: Noticias Canção Nova ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007 This site also uses third-party cookies to improve user experience and for statistical purposes By scrolling through this page or by clicking on any of its elements double 2005 MotoGP race winner Marco Melandri and impressive class rookie Toni Elias have today been officially confirmed as teaming up together next season when Fortuna will switch its backing from the Tech 3 Yamaha team to Gresini Honda Fortuna will this replace outgoing sponsor Movistar with the tobacco brand having signed to back Fausto Gresini's team during the 2006 and 2007 seasons will thus stay in Fortuna colours and ride Sete Gibernau's recently vacated RC211V while Melandri will be staying put but renewing a collaboration with Altadis that ran from 2003 to 2004 when he too was a Yamaha rider "I am very happy to work with Fortuna again a very prestigious sponsor who believed in me when I moved to MotoGP," declared MotoGP man of the moment Melandri "I'm very proud to meet them again after one year away They believe in my potential and I believe in their project I hope to pay their trust back with the results that I didn't manage in past years." Elias bounced back from a serious wrist and ankle injury early in 2005 to clinch rookie of the year honours with 12th overall in the riders' championship and a best finish of sixth position (at the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix) Toni also took his best qualifying position Elias scored points in all but the three races he missed due to injury this season and his loss will surely be a substantial blow for Yamaha - while Honda have added yet another 'young gun' to an already impressive 'next generation' line-up of Melandri "I am really happy to take part in this new and ambitious project based on the experience of the Gresini team the technical support of Honda and obviously Fortuna to whom I am immensely thankful," declared Toni "I am really happy to have Marco as a team-mate because he is a great rider and great guy I have a lot to learn and I am at the right place to do it so I am really looking forward to starting work with my new team." The return of Fortuna to Team Gresini marks the renewal of a previous partnership that saw the late Daijiro Kato in the tobacco brand's colours during his title winning 2001 250cc season and then his and Gresini's debut MotoGP season in 2002 Fortuna were then replaced by Telefonica Movistar "It is with great pleasure that we are here to announce the partnership with the Altadis group and its brand Fortuna," began Gresini "From today we will continue a project started in 2001 and consolidated in 2002 In 2006 we will together take on a new challenge in the most competitive class "Thanks to the trust of such an important and prestigious partner who has shown great belief in our project we are excited about presenting a young team with enormous potential Marco has been a star of what has been a great season Next year we will aim to consolidate and improve his results Marco accepts this new challenge with the support of Fortuna a partner that has believed in him since his move to MotoGP "We are also pleased to announce the arrival of Toni Elias who has ridden in Fortuna colours for three years After one year of apprenticeship in MotoGP we are delighted to have him in our team and to start this adventure that will see him debut on a Honda We believe in his potential and we are sure that together we can obtain good results," he concluded "We are delighted to work again with Fausto and his team with who we had a successful collaboration in 2001 and 2002 His results this season with the Gresini Team have made him the principal challenger of the current world champion for the next season's world crown," declared Carmen Abella Toni has shown his enormous potential and we expect a lot of him in his third season in our colours." The Fortuna Honda team will run in its new livery for the first time on Wednesday at the Valencia test it is not yet known if Fortuna's sister brand Gauloises will leave the Factory Yamaha Team but today's announcement arguably brings the rumoured split a further step closer to reality interviews and promotions from the paddock direct to your inbox For more information see our Privacy Policy He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues © Crash Media Group Ltd 2025.The total or partial reproduction of text photographs or illustrations is not permitted in any form In 2007 Fortuna will concentrate its sponsoring activity around Jorge Lorenzo who will compete in the 250 cc MotoGP championship in the team managed by Dani Amatriain with the full factory technical support of Aprilia After a very successful 2006 season crowned by the world title of Jorge Lorenzo in the 250 category Fortuna would like to congratulate and to thank the Gresini Honda team for its 4 victories won by Marco Melandri (Turkey Fausto Gresini has definitely proved that he had the most professional team in the MotoGP world and Fortuna is particularly proud of this fair and winning 2006 partnership | © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) A press release is not an article written by Roadracingworld.com staffers When a post is labeled with the words “press release” it means that Roadracingworld.com is not responsible for its content and that Roadracingworld.com makes no guarantee that it is accurate Not all press releases are posted and Roadracingworld.com may reject press releases if the content is too heavy on commercial promotion with little or no news value or if the press release contains obvious errors If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys trigger buttons and links using the Enter key navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus) and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible we are continually improving our accessibility updating and improving its options and features and developing and adopting new technologies All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility Gresini’s satellite Honda squad used to be one of the major powers in MotoGP with Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri both riding to second place in the premier class while under the Italian’s management Despite results floundering recently with 2008 failing to see the team register a solitary podium Gresini believes his 2009 line-up can help restore former glory Speaking at the launch of the San Carlo Gresini Honda squad in Milan the former world 125GP world champion said he had high hopes for the forthcoming campaign Spaniard Elias has been given a factory RC212V close to the spec of Repsol Honda factory duo Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso and Gresini said: “Presenting a new season is always full of emotion “2009 will be an important year for the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team a MotoGP season which promises to be exciting and competitive and for which we are prepared to assume a leading role I believe firmly in the potential of my riders “Alex has accumulated vital experience having a complete MotoGP season under his belt while Toni returns to the team with a wealth of expertise himself we have HRC who have carried out excellent work in preparation of the 2009-spec RC212V and who will guarantee technical support of the highest level to the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team throughout the entire season both for the ‘satellite’ bike entrusted to Alex as well as for Toni’s factory-spec bike.”