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.”

THREE RS 660 ON THE PODIUM IN MOTOAMERICA, DE KEYREL STRENGTHENS THE LEADERSHIP IN THE TWINS CUP

The famous American circuit of Laguna Seca hosted the Twins Cup of MotoAmerica last weekend. And it was a race to remember for Aprilia, which took three steps on the podium with three RS 660s.

Championship leader Kaleb De Keyrel (Robem Engineering team) got off to a good start from fifth place on the grid, gained during a very tight qualifying session. He quickly grabbed the first position, maintained the lead until the checkered flag and, at the halfway mark of the championship, strengthens his leadership in the category.

“We were trying to get comfortable most of the weekend, making progress each step, and when the race arrived, we had a good setup,” explains Kaleb De Keyrel, “I was able to make a few passes early on and get out front, and get into the lap times we needed to be keep a lead. When I can get out front, I like that best, as it allows me to set the pace, and focus. I felt comfortable, precise, and had a great ride on my RS 660.”

After his debut in the Veloce Racing Team last race, with little experience riding the RS 660, Anthony Mazziotto confirmed in California what he had already shown in Washington. After having just missed the pole position by 13 thousandths, he was 27 thousandths behind De Keyrel for a well deserved second place.

“Team Veloce put a really great bike underneath me, and I want to thank Spiros Gabrilis and the crew for the opportunity, we’re making it work,” said Anthony Mazziotto, “Kaleb had me working here, and I just couldn’t get around him today. The Aprilia surprised me, because at The Ridge, Jackson [Blackmon] was very fast on his FZ, and also being a technical track, I expected to see the same thing climbing up the hill, but the Aprilia definitely dominated here at Laguna Seca.”

Jody Barry arrived at Laguna Seca determined, showing speed right from practice and taking the Superpole. Despite the fastest lap of the weekend, he had to settle for the third step of the podium after 13 laps, 1.071 seconds behind the winner.

“Pace of the race was very fast, set by De Keyrel. The bike has been great, we had grip throughout the race, and were stable the whole time, it’s been amazing,” said Jody Barry of Righteous Racing team, “Toward the end, I was pushing and closing the gap, but unfortunately, we hit some traffic, and just couldn’t get it to work, but we’re happy with the result and can’t complain.”

After five rounds of the MotoAmerica Twins Cup championship, riders continue to arrive to the grid aboard Aprilia RS 660 machines, proving the ability of the motorcycles to compete in America’s premiere championship as frontrunners. MotoAmerica heads to Brainerd International Raceway, in Minnesota for Round 6, of the 9-round championship, July 30 – August 1.