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Category: Moto GP

  1. D3O poised to see supported rider Michael Dunlop make Isle of Man TT history

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    The highlight of the road racing calendar, the Isle of Man TT, is due to get underway next week and D3O is eagerly anticipating success for Michael Dunlop. Having supported the Northern Irish road racer since 2017, D3O is his protection of choice for tackling the closed roads of the 37.73mile long Mountain Course at speeds of over 200mph.

    Dunlop has recently competed in the North West 200, which is used by a lot of riders as their pre-TT test, in several categories and successfully tested his bikes on “The Triangle” ahead of the Isle of Man event. Michael enjoyed podium success this year with third place finishes in the Tides Restaurant Supersport race, the Anchor Bar Superbike race, the Amici Ristorante Superstock race, the Fraser Homes Supersport race and the Briggs Equipment Superbike race.

    All focus is now on the 2024 Isle of Man TT where D3O-supported Michael Dunlop could become the most successful TT rider of all time. At the moment the record is 26 wins and is held by Michael’s uncle Joey, while Michael himself has 25 wins to his name. The 35-year old will have eight chances for victory as he will compete in all two-wheel classes (Superbike, Supersport, Superstock and Supertwin), where there are two races per category.

    The partnership between the market leader for impact protection and the TT icon not only benefits Dunlop, who is known for his aggressive riding style and for scraping the walls, but the wider motorcycling community. “I can do nothing to help safety bar surround myself with the best stuff I possibly can. My helmet, my suit, my armour. With D3O you get the best of both worlds – it fits you perfectly, but it also provides the best protection that you can ask for,” said Michael Dunlop. The distinctive orange protectors, that are available through a variety of brand partners, are manufactured with testing and feedback provided by athletes like Michael to help make them the lightest, most comfortable and most protective on the market.

    The 2024 Isle of Man TT races will get underway on Monday 27 May with the first Free Practice and Qualifying sessions, before racing gets underway with the Monster Energy Supersport TT Race 1 on Saturday 1 June.

  2. ANOTHER SUPERB SHOW IN THE BOOKS

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    From 14th place on the grid to another podium finish in what was an exciting Catalan afternoon, with Marc Marquez the absolute star. It was not a stellar star this time (albeit a good one), but the talent displayed this time was of a different type: patience. A consistent and relentless comeback, one that surprised even Marc himself who realised he was on the podium only after the chequered flag. 
     
    Alex Marquez also put together a great race. The rider #73 knew he could be competitive in the Sunday race and the seventh position at the finish line is the confirmation of the great work done, despite an underwhelming qualifying performance. There is no time to rest, with Mugello around the corner in a few days’ time. 

    3rd - MARC MARQUEZ #93
    “We keep improving each day, but it’s clear that it’s not always possible to save the weekend as we did here and in Le Mans. On the other hand, at this track, which is the worst on the calendar for my riding style, two podiums are surely a great achievement and bode well for the rest of the season. Now let’s focus on Mugello and especially on solving the issues on the single-lap performance.”
     
    7th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73
    “I had a good feeling throughout the weekend and today’s result shows it. I struggled a bit at the beginning of the race today, maybe also due to the fact that I didn’t want to destroy the soft tyre, but also in the battle with Enea and Brad. It’s good anyway, but it’s clear we need to find something extra during Fridays, starting from Mugello.”

  3. A CATALAN FRIDAY WITH Q1 AHEAD

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    It was not the afternoon that was expected at Montmeló today, as the sixth event of the 2024 world championship season got underway. Both Alex and Marc Marquez, after being among the protagonists of today’s on-track action, could not capitalise when it mattered the most as they finished Practice in 11th and 12th place, respectively.
     
    Nothing is irreversible, however, although there will be a little bit of extra pressure in tomorrow’s Q1 after nearly missing out of a direct seed in the final moments of the afternoon session. Alex crashed out (uninjured) at turn ten, with his tumble bringing out the yellow flags and, at the same time, taking Marc’s last opportunity away.

    11th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (1’39.113s)
    “Obviously the crash didn’t help but it’s also true that feeling-wise it has been the best Friday of the season so far. We knew the Ducatis would suffer a bit more compared to other bikes, but it’s part of the game. We need to work ahead of tomorrow but the goal is to make it into Q2.”
     
    12th - MARC MARQUEZ #93 (1’39.153s)
    “I must admit that I wasn’t feeling very comfortable already in the early stages of the afternoon session and then I couldn’t make the most of the soft tyre. It’ll be hard tomorrow as we know that Q1 is the worst session of the weekend, but we’ll give it all and see how it goes. This is not one of my favourite tracks and this Friday confirmed my worries. Let’s thing about having a great Q1 and we’ll see from there.”

  4. CHAINON AND GRESINI RACING RENEW THEIR PARTNERSHIP FOR THE 2024

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    Team Gresini Racing and ChainOn have renewed their partnership agreement for the 2024 MotoGP season: after a first season together in 2023, the sponsorship-related offers by the team tied to Ducati can be purchased on https://www.chainon.it/teamgresini

    Team Gresini Racing offers on ChainOn exclusive packages that include the possibility for companies to live unique experiences and guarantee themselves visibility on the international stage: paddock access, behind-the-scenes at the pit-box with Marc and Alex Marquez, exclusive hospitality services to involve customers and stake holders – these are only a few of the many advantages that can be obtained by purchasing these packages. Other sponsorship opportunities can also be explored, which will be tailored to specific needs and designed to achieve the commercial goals of each investor. 

    By accessing the marketplace, and after a quick sign-up as “investors”, companies, SMEs and freelancers will be able to check and analyse for free the exclusive sponsorship proposals by Gresini Racing, which are conceived to guarantee visibility to the brand on both national and international levels. And, should interest arise, the agreements can be negotiated and finalised online with few clicks. The commissions for the investors are zero and the investment on the purchased sponsorship is fully deductible in the financial statements. To finalise an agreement on ChainOn is simple, quick and safe on top of being about innovation, transparency and saving. 

    From July 2024, ChainOn has launched the international section of the marketplace: this allows for an sponsorship opportunity increase beyond Italy’s national border, with an eye on involving the biggest number of companies present in the local markets where the 21 events of the 2024 MotoGP season will take place – which include countries all over the world from USA to Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, as well as the main European circuits and many more. 

    Giovanni Palazzi – Founder and CEO ChainOn

    “It is with absolute pleasure that we announce the partnership renewal with Gresini Racing, which gives continuity to what was built already in the 2023 season. The fact that such a prestigious international sporting player like Team Gresini Racing has chosen ChainOn once again, makes us proud and shows the potential of our marketplace, based on the possibility of finalising sponsorship deals in Italy and across the world in an easy, quick, safe way and intermediary-free way.”

    Carlo Merlini – Gresini Racing Commercial & Marketing Director

    “I’m very happy with the continuation of the partnership with ChainOn. ChainOn is for us a powerful sales channel that allows us to increase exponentially our connection with new realities, and therefore to make available and known the offers by Gresini Racing with regards to Sponsorships and team Experience – now also at international level. I’d like to thank Giovanni and his team for the collaboration and to make available this innovative tool.” 

  5. MARQUEZ SHINES BRIGHT IN FRANCE. GRESINI’S 1000TH RACE IS A WONDER

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    220 podium finishes, 73 of which are wins. This is Gresini Racing’s tally in the 1000 races completed so far: today’s podium is one that will be hard to forget. 
     
    An incredible comeback with remarkable consistency and with no hesitation, which catapulted Marc Marquez on second place in the Sunday race at Le Mans as well as in third position in the championship standings, 40 points away from leader Jorge Martin.
     
    France brought plenty of smiles in Gresini’s garage, with a solid top-ten finish also for Alex Marquez, who did a great job in scoring points and finding fresh confidence ahead of his home race in Barcelona. 

    2nd - MARC MARQUEZ #93
    “It was an excellent start, even though it wasn’t as good as yesterday’s. There was more time today to put together a comeback and our pace was strong. I lost a bit of time with Diggia and even before that with Viñales, who is definitely not an easy one to pass. Then, when I bridged the gap to Martin and Bagnaia I was expecting the latter to attack but in the end he didn’t, so I gave it a try. I had something more in the last lap so I took a gamble, and it worked.”
     
    10th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73
    “My pace was good and considering my starting position, we saved our Sunday. We can’t be satisfied, but we now look ahead to Barcelona with a clear picture of what we need to work on, in order to avoid repeating the same mistakes we made at the start of this weekend. The goals are different obviously, but we take all the positives we can from this weekend.”

    GRESINI IN NUMBERS

    1000 GP Starts

    449. MOTOGP (29 in 500cc)
    320. MOTO2 (64 in 250cc)
    177. MOTO3 
    54. MOTOE 

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    5 WORLD TITLES
    73 WINS
    220 PODIUMS