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Category: Moto GP
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EVEN IN ADVERSE CONDITIONS ALEIX TAKES HOME ANOTHER SOLID TOP-TEN FINISH
MAVERICK, PENALISED BY HIS START, MOVES UP THROUGH THE POSITIONS AND FINISHES WITH THE SEVENTH BEST RACE LAP TIME BUT JUST OUTSIDE THE POINTS
The tropical storm that hit a half hour before the start of the first MotoGP race on the new Indonesian circuit threw a spanner in the works, reducing it to seven laps. Aleix Espargaró, consistently among the fastest in dry conditions, showed his skill by reacting well to the new conditions as well. After a less than perfect start, he got caught up in a battle during the opening lap, losing quite a few positions, but from there he began to turn fast and consistent laps with a great deal of confidence on his RS-GP. In his group, he managed to get the better of Darryn Binder, Bastianini, his brother Pol, Álex Márquez and Bagnaia, thereby finishing in a solid ninth place. With more than a few regrets about not managing to avoid contact on that first lap, which cost him the best positions straight away.
Maverick Viñales achieved a great result in the warm-up session on dry asphalt when, after a few significant changes to his bike’s setup, he found new confidence on the RS-GP, so much that he finished second. After a bad start, he found himself at the back of the group, but he was able to find his rhythm and lapped at the same times as the best. Unfortunately, his comeback ride stopped just behind 15th place, so outside of the points zone. However, he’ll be leaving Mandalika after taking a major step forward in his growth on the Aprilia.
Aleix Espargaró
"It was a very difficult race because of the weather conditions and because during the first lap, I found myself twentieth due to contact with Álex Márquez. Staying in the group was hard and visibility was also extremely poor. But the bike worked well. Grip wasn’t bad and from there I began to come back. In the last seven laps I overtook quite a few riders, making up positions. Taking home another top-ten finish on such a difficult Sunday was a good result."
Maverick Viñales
"Even though the result is certainly not the one we wanted, it was a positive weekend. Today was perhaps the most important day of growth for me since joining Aprilia because we found a really good setting that I was able to go fast with in the warm-up session and that I was comfortable with even in wet conditions. I'm happy with the work we did here. We are taking a step closer to the best with every round. I can’t wait to get to Argentina to continue this positive trend."
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#IndonesianGP qualifying. It was an emotion-filled Saturday across the whole of Gresini Racing MotoGP garage as today the Faenza-based team sees both of its riders in Q2, with Enea Bastianini to line up on row two for tomorrow’s race, while Fabio Di Giannantonio while start the second encounter of the season from the 11th spot of the grid.
Let’s start with the rider #49, who did an incredible job in making it through Q2. He was the best-placed rookie today after setting an excellent 1’31.8secs lap-time, which was only four tenths of a second shy from the front row of the Indonesian Grand Prix.
Enea Bastianini proves to be in excellent form. Even though today’s second row appears like a given, the fifth position on the grid is his so-far second-best qualifying performance in the series.
5th - ENEA BASTIANINI #23 (1’31.504)
“We’re still not 100% ready and unfortunately this morning’s mixed conditions didn’t allow us to carry on with our work schedule as good as we’d liked. I chose not to take any unnecessary risk in FP3 and during FP4 I struggled in getting up to speed. The track improved little by little and I managed to set some good lap-times. In qualifying – if we take into account the two yellow flag situations – we cannot be but happy with fifth position. We’ll have to work hard during warm up, as we still need something extra to be really competitive.”
11th - FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO #49 (1’31.829)
“I’m very happy: to get into Q2 in my second MotoGP race is a great result. We were all very happy within the pit-box and it was surely a good Saturday. I’m happy especially with the work done since Qatar. The front-end feeling has radically changed and I do notice it while on the track. I’m having fun, and results come when you’re having fun.”
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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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