Everything we mentioned so far would be nothing without the help of our partners, which are an integrant part of the Gresini Family. The commercial department is a key pillar of Gresini Racing and has been managed for the last two decades by Carlo Merlini, the commercial and marketing director of Gresini Racing.

This is a crucial moment in the development of this side of the project: many #GresiniFamily existing sponsors have already decided to join this new effort in the premier class and also new sponsor are coming onboard, given the strong attraction by the incomparable stage of MotoGP.

How does the MotoGP project come to light from the commercial side of things?
Putting together a budget for a project normally requires a lot of dedication and great work method. In our case, there have been some factors that have surely taken the work complexity on a different level – first and foremost the huge loss we had to face last February: this is an incommensurable void which will never be filled. Aside from this emotional aspect, complexity was also generated by the level of budget that we need build when it comes to a MotoGP project and by the fact that, after seven years of joint venture with Aprilia, we found ourselves back to square one with regards to budget building.

The network of relationship we have in place with our existing and prospect sponsors was extremely useful and allowed us to develop discussions far earlier than usual and eventually to get to the point of signing a contract with Ducati with an already well-shaped budget.
The business model of an “independent team” requires a very careful risk management and I must say that this has been one of the biggest learning of the over 20 years of work alongside Fausto.

New and ‘old’ allies
This new Gresini MotoGP project was a precious opportunity to offer our partners in the lower categories a chance to follow us in this new journey, to develop the sponsorship in the premier class with all the perks it has, starting from the TV audience numbers and media attention it gets. We have already announced that established partners such as Federal Oil, Astra Otoparts, YouAll e Kapriol will be onboard. But obviously, a new chapter is also a chance for new partners to enter the #GresiniFamily, and I would like to mention that Flex-Box was among the first ones to embrace the Ducati Gresini MotoGP project, and did so in the key role of title sponsor.

Indonesia still has a key role…
Our deep, decade-long roots in Indonesia are well known. This is a bond that comes from the fact that Indonesia is a key country for the MotoGP universe, as the series has over there the biggest following in the whole world. For us, Indonesia has become our main foreign market, in which we have developed very important partnerships. The opportunity to jump onboard the Gresini’s MotoGP platform was taken first and foremost by Federal Oil, as the Gresini Moto2 title sponsor decided to move its commitment to MotoGP by becoming to my knowledge the first-ever Indonesian sponsor in the premier class! And then also an historical partner such as Astra Otoparts has joined the challenge and others will follow.

#CiaoFausto❤️

PART 2: THE STRUCTURE

If it is true that being able to have dreams is key to build such a big project, as well as to believe in your own work, choose the manufacturer and the riders you think are more fitting to the project, there is also a lot more to focus and work on…
 
This is why we had a chat with Michele Masini, a long-time Gresini Racing member, who next year will be the sporting director of the Gresini MotoGP project.

How is the MotoGP project created from the sporting side of things?
First of all, I would like to say that I’m very proud that the Gresini family has put their faith in me for the Sporting Director position. I have been with Gresini Racing since 2008 and it is an honour for me to be following first-hand this MotoGP return as independent team for the first time in seven years. 

It was Fausto’s dream and perhaps this is the base: the extra motivation he gave us to make sure Gresini Racing could return to past glory. The goal is to make sure the team positions itself again as the reference point among the MotoGP satellite teams. 

We’re working side by side with Ducati on all fronts; the goal is to have a team with a high technical level but at the same time a young and ambitious one: it will be a mix of trusted Gresini Racing people with some new entries who have an important amount of experience with Ducati.

How will the team be structured?
The team will consist of around 25-26 people. Twenty of them from Gresini Racing and five people from Ducati Corse: a track engineer and an electronic engineer for each rider and a spare parts manager. 

Next steps from a structural point of view
We’ve been working for a year in order to find a top-level structure for what concerns hospitality and team trucks. During the next weeks we will have a clearer idea about the graphics, which is overseen by Drudi Performance. The goal is to get to November with a winter test graphic which will resemble our 2022 image. 

The Manchester Bike Show due to take place on 11th & 12th September has now been postponed.

The Manchester Bike Show will now take place on 2nd & 3rd April 2022 at Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Longbridge Road, Stretford, Manchester, M17 1SN

As organisers of The Manchester Bike Show we once again find ourselves between a rock and a hard place with regard to running or postponing the show. On the first two occasions when the show was postponed at EventCity in March 2020 and March 2021 the decision to postpone was fairly clear cut and taken out of our hands on each occasion by both the government and the venue. The latest decision to postpone was much less clear cut especially given the government’s decision to open up the economy on 19th July. The majority of the main manufacturers/dealers were booked in to attend on 11th / 12th September as were a good number of trade exhibitors and clubs, plus advance tickets were selling well and we were looking forward to a good show. However, we have been contacted by a number of dealers informing us that they will no longer be attending the September show for two main reasons. Firstly against a background of rising Covid cases the dealers don’t want to put their employees at any greater risk than necessary and equally these same employees, who are mostly young, are reluctant to put themselves into that situation anyway. Secondly there is currently a supply issue in both the car and motorcycle industry whereby the dealers have already sold out of the stock they were holding pre-pandemic and they can pre-sell any stock they can currently get their hands on, so there seems little point in going to all the effort of organising a stand with nothing to put on it. These dealers all assure me that new stock will be on the way by the end of 2021 and they will all be present when the show comes back to Bowlers on 2nd / 3rd April 2022.

We are well aware that we could have gone ahead irrespective of the withdrawal of key exhibitors but we are not prepared to sacrifice the reputation of the event for short term financial gain. Hopefully you will support us in this decision and we look forward to seeing everyone again at Bowlers in April 2022.

TICKETS

Advance tickets for the show at Bowlers on 2nd / 3rd April 2022 will be available to purchase from Ticketline shortly. Keep an eye on the Manchester Bike Show’s Buy Tickets page for updates. Any tickets purchased for the March 2020 show at EventCity and September 2021 show at Bowlers will be valid for entry to the April 2022 show at Bowlers.

www.manchesterbikeshow.com

• Motorcycle parade will open the event on 1 and 2 September
• Concours d’Elégance set to celebrate 100 years of Moto Guzzi
• Concours entrants can take part in the pre-event Tour Privé
• World debut from top custom motorcycle builder Thornton Hundred

Salon Privé will be welcoming some of the world’s greatest motorcycles to the fabulous surroundings of Blenheim Palace when it returns the first week of September. Whether in the Concours d’Elégance or elsewhere on the South Lawn, it will be a showcase for the finest two-wheeled machinery from past and present.

A new addition for 2021 is the introduction of a motorcycle parade to open the event on the mornings of Wednesday 1 September and Thursday 2 September. Entrants will start outside the show field, then parade through the grounds of Blenheim Palace and into place on the elegant South Lawn.

There will also be the opportunity for Motorcycle entrants to take part in Tour Privé for the first time, on Tuesday 31 August. The 100-mile route will depart the Great Court at Blenheim Palace and travel through the spectacular Cotswold countryside, with a luncheon stop at Grittleton House nestled in the picturesque village of Grittleton, Wiltshire.

The motorcycles in the Concours d’Elégance will be split into three classes. Early entries for the Motorcycle class include a 1968 Triumph TR6C Trophy. An extremely rare example of this iconic West Coast Street Scrambler, it was part of a production run that lasted only from January to July 1968, and which was considered aesthetically superior to the later models. This particular motorcycle has been completely restored to original specification, included twin-leading-shoe front brake and 12-volt electrics.

It is no mystery that the Gresini MotoGP project was Fausto Gresini’s secret wish. A dream which, we’re absolutely sure, he would have carried out with his own hands. His early disappearance surely put Gresini Racing in front of a complex reality, a reality which his wife Nadia Padovani was able to shape after Fausto.
 
From here, the Gresini MotoGP project was born, a project which found in Ducati Corse the right ally and then in Di Giannantonio and Bastianini an all-Italian line-up, one which is romantically tied to the history of Fausto – and of Gresini as a company.

NADIA PADOVANI GRESINI – GRESINI RACING TEAM OWNER & TEAM PRINCIPAL 
“To continue in the sign of Fausto was and still is our mission and – to do so the best way possible – the return to MotoGP as an independent team was an obligatory step. The last months were really intense, loaded with work and emotions and together with the team with focused our efforts to create the best possible MotoGP project. Ducati Corse and Fausto were in talks already at the end of last season and I think choosing Borgo Panigale’s manufacturer was the right call, even though I’m not forgetting about the important partnership with Aprilia these past years.

Regarding the riders… what can I say? Talent, speed, ambition and their success are in front of everybody’s eyes, and I believe MotoGP will be their stage for many years to come. They are very young, and the fact that it was indeed Fausto who ‘discovered’ them and brought them on the world stage makes me think that it is a line-up he would have approved with full grades.”

FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO - MOTOGP RIDER
“Getting to the top doesn’t happen every day. Next year I will be racing in the most premier class in this sport, and this is an incredible dream. The first day it will be like getting into the big league: it will be a whole new, huge experience, doesn’t matter how it ends up. Going from Moto2 to MotoGP will be tough: 100 more horsepower, more people in the pit-box, more commitments, more buttons on the handlebars… It will be a huge change, but I feel I’m ready and I can’t wait.”