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Category: Superbikes
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#IndonesianGP free practice. Team Gresini Racing MotoGP had a strong start to the Indonesian Grand Prix today as both Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio showed great speed at this long-awaited, new track on the MotoGP calendar.
Enea Bastianini managed to finish in the top five: this is a very important result, albeit things could have gone even better. A crash during what was shaping to the best lap of the day – just before the chequered flag was deployed – prevented the current championship leader to sit atop the timesheets today. The Italian rider fortunately escaped uninjured from the tumble after losing the front-end of his Ducati machine - while the stopwatch marked -0.244secs on what ended up being the fastest lap-time of the day. Fifth place is still an encouraging result, especially if it rains tomorrow morning as that would be more than enough for Bastianini to be seeded directly to Q2.
Fabio Di Giannantonio also enjoyed a very promising start to the weekend as he ended up fourteenth at the end of day one. He was the quickest of this year’s series rookies and on many occasions, he made his way into the top ten. This is exactly the goal for the rider #49 for tomorrow as tenth position is currently only 0.3secs away.
5th - ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (1’31.921)
“We did a good job, especially in FP2. The track was quite damp this morning and we took the opportunity to work on this type of conditions as well – especially as it’s never been my best scenario. The track conditions changed in the afternoon: different grip, different tyres… I had to come up with a plan on the fly and despite a mistake towards the end, things went well. We’re still not 100% and we’ll need to make another step tomorrow – and hopefully the track will also improve. We only worked with medium tyres and soft ones for the time attack… We’ll have to try the harder option too, but today I chose to play safer.
14th - FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (1’32.418)
“I’m very happy with how today went: we made a great step with the bike compared to Qatar and I found back the type of feeling I had during the first tests. We were quick with both medium and softer tyres. To tell the truth, I couldn’t put together the perfect lap with the latter, so that means I still have some margin for tomorrow’s qualifying. Now we need to work on the rear-end of the bike, but the feeling with the front-end is there and that’s important.”
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Germany-based leading multinational company specialised in hardware, consumables, and professional tools for the mobility, craftmanship and manufacturing sectors Berner has chosen Team Gresini also in 2022, as the partnership between the two institutions extends to a staggering 17 year-period this season.
Things have changed completely, from the return to MotoGP as an independent team to the choice of racing with Ducati, the return of Enea Bastianini and the step up by Enea Bastianini; Berner has not changed, however, and will be back with the Faenza-based team as MotoGP technical supplier.
ANTONIO ZUFFELLATO – BERNER ITALIA MARKETING DIRECTOR
“The partnership with Team Gresini Racing makes us very proud. To know that the team uses our products for the preparation and cleaning of the bike highlights how well-performing our solutions are to satisfy any time of need. During these years, we have built a trustworthy relationship and partnership with the whole of Team Gresini Racing: The passion for two wheels combined with sporting competitions represents a strong bond both with our company and our clients.”
CARLO MERLINI – GRESINI RACING COMMERCIAL AND MARKETING DIRECTOR
“There are very few words left to describe the importance of the relationship with Berner. I cannot even go back in time with my memory to find a season without what is such a key relationship for us. We just started this new journey and I must say that things are going pretty well so far. We can’t wait for the upcoming races in order to keep working the same we did until now – and that’s also thanks to Berner.”
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ELISABETTA FRANCHI DRESSES THE GRID GIRLS OF THE GRESINI RACING TEAM AND LAUNCHES AN INSPIRATIONAL MESSAGE FOR ALL WOMEN 
Throughout 2022, the Grid Girls of Gresini Racing will join the fray alongside the riders of the MotoGP, Moto2 and MotoE circuits wearing dresses, jackets and high-tech jumpsuits signed by the designer.
Elisabetta Franchi signs the uniforms of the Grid Girls of the Gresini team and brings for the first time a fashion brand on the MotoGP, Moto2 and MotoE tracks: it is an extraordinary mix of women&engines starting on March the 6th with the Qatar Grand Prix. Furthermore, this project starts something with a much higher value than a simple collaboration between brands: a profound understanding between Elisabetta Franchi and Nadia Gresini, at the helm of the team.
The collection made by the designer for the Gresini team is a complete line of dresses, jackets, down jackets, jumpsuits and footwear, including sneakers and seductive pumps. The uniforms have been designed and studied to suggest an aesthetic and stylistic connection with the design of the bikes and the colours of the riders' suits, based on the categories in which they compete.
Not only wardrobe design for the Grid Girls of the Gresini team, but also extraordinary technological research. The uniforms, in fact, are made of DHtech 260 Light Pro by Athesis combining two layers of polypropylene to offer maximum comfort and adherence to the body, a thickness reduced to a minimum, exceptional thermal insulation and absolute breathability. With this innovative fabric, impalpable garments are born, with a high graphic definition and top performances even in everyday life.
ELISABETTA FRANCHI
“When Nadia Gresini contacted me, I immediately felt a great empathy for the personal story we share: we both had to face the pain of losing a husband and we both decided to take on the company 100%. This is much more than a collection, it is a message wishing to inspire all women on the value of female resourcefulness and on the importance of teamwork”.
NADIA PADOVANI
"I am proud and honored to confirm the beginning of a beautiful collaboration between the Gresini Racing and Elisabetta Franchi, a successful stylist and entrepreneur, to whom I am bound by feelings of esteem and affinity for the history and experiences, even painful, that we have in common. We celebrate together Enea Bastianini's extraordinary victory in the recent Qatar Grand Prix, experiencing the excellent results of teamwork, passion, enthusiasm and determination, the same values we share in both our personal and professional life. I have always looked with admiration at the brilliant path taken by Elisabetta Franchi with who a natural feeling was immediately established. This also stimulates me to carry on and realize the dreams that my husband had begun to build.”
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Eight years have passed since the last season in MotoGP as an independent team, eight more from the last time Gresini Racing was on the top step of the podium. The return to the premier class could not have been any more glorious for the team founded by the late-great Fausto Gresini, who collectively burst into tears of joy today at the Losail International Circuit courtesy of a masterful performance by Enea Bastianini, who put together the perfect race aboard his Ducati GP21 machine #23. 
The performance by 24-year-old from Rimini was simply exemplary, as he kept close to the front of the field in the early stages while preserving the tyres around the fast-flowing Qatari track. After spending most of the race in fourth place, he realised he had what it takes to push for more and made his way past former MotoGP champion Marc Marquéz first, and then once having the better of Brad Binder he found himself in second place with a one-second gap to the then-leader Pol Espargaró.
With a relentless place, which included the fastest lap of the race – a 1’54.338secs on lap 17 – he bridged the gap to the front and then slipstreamed his way to the lead. From then on, he careful managed his margin up to the chequered flag, for a new incredible milestone for him and the whole of Gresini Racing.
MotoGP debutant and former Moto2 race winner Fabio Di Giannantonio continued his learning curve within the series as he gathered a very important amount of experience around the track which had seen him on the third step of the podium twelve months ago in Moto2. The Rome-born rider was 17th at the finish line as he continues to gel with the new bike, tyres, and category.
IT'S ALL YOURS FAUSTO
🆠- ENEA BASTIANINI #23
“My feelings are incredible right now. I pushed hard from the start, but the most important thing was to save the tyre for the end of the race. I saw Pol pushing hard at the front, but I managed to overtake Binder and then at the end, once I got very close to Pol, I realised that I could try to win the race. I passed him down the straight at turn one and he went wide, so from then on it was all about staying in the lead and take the win home. It’s hard to express my feelings now, but I want to dedicate the win to Fausto because he gave me incredible motivation from above. This is a fantastic result for the whole team: we’re all in tears right now. I’m also very happy for my family at home, so a big thank you goes to everyone who made this possible.”
17th - FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49
"We’re learning and there’s still a lot to learn, but I must be happy with this debut. Obviously, we want to improve a lot and do it fast, but it was important to finish this first race and gather some valuable experience. Let’s quickly focus on Mandalika now and keep working with confidence.”
#CiaoFaustoâ¤ï¸
www.gresiniracing.com
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ALEIX ESPARGARÓ, CONSISTENTLY A PROTAGONIST THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND, CONTINUES TO PERFORM WELL AND IS FOURTH IN THE 22 MOTOGP OPENING RACE
MAVERICK VIÑALES MOVES UP THROUGH THE POSITIONS TO FINISH IN THE POINTS
After a weekend spent among the leaders in every practice and qualifying session, Aleix Espargaró confirmed his performance in the race, finishing fourth in an extremely tight finale where the top four riders were all within 2 seconds of one another.
After a good start, Aleix battled in the positions just off the podium, managing to get the better of Rins, Mir and Marc Márquez and successfully catching, but not overtaking, his brother Pol for the podium.
In so doing, Aleix achieved a great result, one of the best of Aprilia’s history in MotoGP, which also reiterates the value of the 2022 RS-GP, the brand new V4 that made its début in the recent winter tests, capable of confirming all the good feedback seen during the preseason testing in the first race. In fact, Aleix finished with the second best race time and went in the books among the top riders in terms of top speed.
Maverick Viñales, although still far from the results that are within reach for a rider of his talent, skilfully reacted to the result of practice and qualifying, where he was never quite able to find the right feeling with the bike on this track. Settling into his race pace and aided by a few crashes ahead of him, he fought his way from the eighth row all the way up through the ranks to twelfth place, which gives him his first championship points for the ’22 season.
Aleix Espargaró
"Coming so close to the podium and missing it may seem like a disappointment, but I am extremely satisfied with our weekend and today’s race. The times show that I was one of the fastest on the track. Unfortunately, I lost a few fundamental tenths battling with Marc and Joan. And in the end, I think that our tyre situation was better than my brother’s and Brad’s, but a small mistake on turn 4 kept me from attempting an attack in the finale. In any case, Aprilia is in the mix - we’re in it! It will be an extraordinary championship where we’ll certainly be able to battle with the top riders and the best manufacturers in the world."
Maverick Viñales
"This is obviously a disappointing result. This is certainly not in line with my expectations or the team’s, but I never had the right feeling with the front end and going into corners. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We need to get to know this bike better. We had some sensations in the tests that we evidently need to find again. I didn't make any mistakes in the race and I didn't have any significant drop in tyre performance, but I didn't manage to have an incisive pace either. This is neither what we want nor what we know we are able achieve."
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