The Qatar GP is just around the corner and the Gresini Racing team is ready to embark on a new adventure. Having left Aprilia, the late Fausto&rsquo;s squad will take on the 2022 season as an Independent Team, entrusting two Ducati Desmosedicis to Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio.  The 2020 Moto2 World Champion is highly motivated as he arrives in Losail, spurred on by the progress made during the Sepang and Mandalika tests, while rookie Fabio will take on his first race as a rider in the reigning class.  Bastianini: &quot;I&rsquo;m ready&quot;   &ldquo;I must say we are super ready&rdquo;, comments Bastianini ahead of the season opener. &ldquo;Testing was very good and as a team we are gelling very well together. I like the Qatari track and I did quite well in my MotoGP debut last year&rdquo;. After a strong first season in the MotoGP class, in which Enea challenged Jorge Martin for the title of Rookie of the Year, the Italian is ready to fight at the front this year: &ldquo;We have more experience now so it&rsquo;s time to stop talking and start racing! My physical preparation went very well, and I felt the bike as my own since the first day in Malaysia.&rdquo;  Di Giannantonio: &quot;The physical problems are behind me&quot;   Di Giannantonio is understandably excited: &ldquo;First race of the year and first MotoGP race of my career&hellip; we&rsquo;re so charged up for it&rdquo;, comments Diggia. &ldquo;We are eager to take to the track also considering what we did during testing, as we made steps forward both with the bike and the team. I must admit that the last month has been quite complicated fitness wise as I&rsquo;ve had some issues that affected me Malaysia onwards, but then I was able to work well so we&rsquo;ll be ready&rdquo;. As for his goals, the number 49 rider is keeping his feet on the ground: &ldquo;The realistic goal is to continue to learn and grow, the optimistic one is to score my first points!&rdquo;  Translated by Heather Watson  SBK, let the unveiling begin: 2022 team presentations 

This could be the season of consecration for Enea, while Fabio prepares for his first race in the top class. Here, their comments ahead of Losail

MotoGP: Bastianini and Di Giannantonio on the attack at the Qatar GP

        A new shade for a new and exciting MotoGP project. We&rsquo;re talking team Gresini, which has now revealed the main colours that will stand out on its Ducati bikes in 2022 when it returns to the reigning class as an independent team. Ahead of the Austrian GP, the team provides just a sneak preview, which you can see below:             Visualizza questo post su Instagram  Un post condiviso da Gresini Racing (@gresiniracing)      A meeting of two colours  The colour is Pantone 2121 and the message reads: &ldquo;The colour of the sky, of air&hellip; of breath. A clean and young tint for fresh energy! Gresini's pale blue will meet red&hellip; The colour of courage, of speed and passion for racing&rdquo;. With the valuable collaboration of Drudi Performance, team Gresini &ndash; now headed up by Fausto&rsquo;s widow Nadia Padovani &ndash; is working tirelessly on the new project, which will bring Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio to the track with the aim of scoring great results. In Fausto&rsquo;s name obviously. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP Styria, Vi&ntilde;ales: &ldquo;With this team I can't show my potential&rdquo;       

The work never stops in the Faenza-based offices, as the team prepares for the new season in the top class and reveals the colour that will adorn Bastianini and Di Giannantonio&rsquo;s Ducati bikes

MotoGP, Gresini Racing: new livery colour

        The 2021 season officially began at Losail last weekend and the cadet class didn&rsquo;t disappoint, the win only decided through the final corners and the top three riders all within 0.094 of a second of each other. It&rsquo;s time to give out our marks out of ten following the first round of the year... Jaume Masia: 10 He has strengthened his position as one of the title favourites. The Spaniard is ready to dominate, and the other contenders will clearly have their work cut out. Pedro Acosta: 9 Many of the rookies made a positive first impression, but Acosta went as far as to reach the podium in his debut race. A wonderful start for a rider who&rsquo;s both talented and courageous. And this is only the beginning. Tatsuki Suzuki: 8 Covid-19 caused him to miss the tests at Losail, but despite starting from the back of the grid, Simoncelli&rsquo;s rider put in a great race, making up twenty positions! Izan Guevara: 8 Another star of the race, and another very promising rookie. The CEV Moto3 winner has immediately made his presence felt. Seventh in his second race could well develop into something more. Niccol&ograve; Antonelli: 7 He paid for the mistake he made when at the top, but his performance in this race was very encouraging. After a 2020 to forget, Nicco truly seems to have turned the page. Romano Fenati: 7 Eleventh isn&rsquo;t the result we expected of him. He could have run a very different race, but an initial &ldquo;jump start&rdquo; totally conditioned his performance. If we consider that, having started eighteenth and with two Long Lap Penalties, he closed just outside the top ten, then the race was a positive one. Gabriel Rodrigo: 5 Top five for the team Gresini rider. A positive start, but he really needs to prove himself this year. In Moto3 since 2014, we expect more of him. Xavier Artigas: 3 He took out three riders just three laps in. We couldn&rsquo;t give him any other mark&hellip; Andrea Migno and Dennis Foggia: NC Both were set for a strong race, but fate got in the way. Penalised by other riders, neither was able to express their full potential. They&rsquo;ll try again next Sunday. Translated by Heather Watson Moto2 GP Qatar: report card and results from the opening round       

We give our marks to the players - good and bad - in the first race of the season at Losail. Here&rsquo;s who passes and who fails

Moto3 Qatar: report card and results from the opening round

The 2021 Moto2 season has begun and so far it&rsquo;s all about Sam Lowes, who scored the win from pole aboard the team Marc VDS Kalex. Behind him, Remy Gardner confirms that he&rsquo;s mature and, with a top team like Red Bull KTM Ajo, can fight at the front, as can Fabio Di Giannantonio, who celebrated a tearful podium after his first race with the team Gresini Kalex.  As for Marco Bezzecchi? Good, but perhaps not good enough. Meanwhile Spanish rookie Raul Fernandez made a strong start, fifth in his first race, as did Beaubier and Vietti. Disappointment for Manzi, and also Baldassarri and the MV Agusta.  Qatar report card   Sam Lowes: 10  A first-rate weekend for the Brit. In the top five right from Friday, he then set pole before dominating in the race. A crash in warm-up did nothing to deter him, Sam clearly one of the hot favourites for this year&rsquo;s title. Simply perfect.  Remy Gardner: 9  The Australian has started from where he left off in 2020, with a strong performance that finally confirms his maturity. One of few to lap with times similar to Lowes, his only mistake came in qualifying, where he failed to secure a front row start.  Fabio Di Giannantonio: 9  An incredible last lap saw Diggia beat Bezzecchi to the line and score a very emotional podium, in memory of Fausto of course. A pity about his tough qualifying session, but an excellent debut for the Italian aboard the Kalex  Raul Fernandez: 9  Having played a starring role all weekend, the Spaniard has immediately proved that he deserves his place in Moto2. Second in qualifying and fifth in his debut race. Clearly the &lsquo;chaos&rsquo; of Moto3 was not for him.  Marco Bezzecchi: 7  On paper, he looked to be the only rider able to keep pace with Lowes, but a drop in performance a few laps in saw him fighting for the third step of the podium, a battle he lost in the final stages. Good job anyway, but after the 2020 season finale, we expect a lot from &ldquo;Bez&rdquo;.  Cameron Beaubier and Celestino Vietti: 7  Two more rookies that stood out during their debut appearance in Moto2. Despite difficult qualifying sessions, both the five-time MotoAmerica champion and the Sky Racing Team rider went on to make great recoveries, closing just outside the top ten. Not bad, for their first time.  Stefano Manzi and Lorenzo Baldassarri: 4  The disappointments of the weekend. Stefano&rsquo;s move to the Sito Pons&rsquo; Kalex doesn&#39;t appear to have helped him, the rider closing 25 seconds from the front and outside the points zone. A disaster for Baldassarri, who struggled throughout his first weekend with MV Agusta, finishing with a crash. An uphill start for two great riders.  Translated by Heather Watson  MotoGP, Vi&ntilde;ales appears calmer without Rossi in the Yamaha garage 

Sam Lowes dominates to secure the win, Gardner confirms his growth and &quot;Diggia&quot; moves everyone to tears. Here is the first report card of the year for the middle class

Moto2 GP Qatar: report card and results from the opening round

        Another day of world championship presentations, and today it was the turn of Team Gresini Racing, which will be taking to the track in both the Moto3 and Moto2 classes. The Italian team will be able to count on four riders, namely Fabio Di Giannantonio and Niccol&ograve; Bulega in the intermediate class and Geremy Alcoba and Gabriel Rodrigo in the cadet class. &ldquo;Get well soon Fausto!&rdquo;  The unveiling, which was broadcast on social media, took place without Fausto Gresini, who is still battling Covid-19 in intensive care. &ldquo;We were unsure whether or not to go ahead with the presentation - said presenter Franco Bobbiese &ndash; but then we told ourselves that Fausto would want it to happen&rdquo;. The unveiling included a series of special mentions for Fausto, with Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta, IRTA president Herv&egrave; Poncharal, FIM president Jorge Viegas and Loris Capirossi all sending him their best wishes for a full recovery. &ldquo;Fausto is the real team leader - said Carlo Merlini, Gresini Racing commercial - We want to do well and hope Fausto will be proud when he sees what we&rsquo;re doing&rdquo;. The new livery  The racing DNA is clearly still there and both the riders and bikes are ready. The Moto3 riders will head out with a new red and black livery while the Kalex Moto2 bikes will feature a white and red colour scheme that showcases main sponsor Federal Oil. The 2021 team  The riders took to the stage to offer their thoughts on the upcoming season: &rdquo;I want to start as I finished - said Alcoba &ndash; I need to improve in qualifying to be able to start further forward on the grid come race day. Being part of team Gresini means being part of a family, and I&rsquo;m very happy about that&rdquo;. &ldquo;The bike looks amazing - added veteran Rodrigo - For 2021 I need to better understand how to manage the races. We now have the experience and the maturity to aim for the top&rdquo;. The Moto2 team counts on reconfirmed Nicol&ograve; Bulega and new entry Fabio Di Giannantonio: &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of history between Fausto and I - explained Diggia - we met up again and found we had the same ideas. We want to do well, and it&rsquo;s a bit like a homecoming for me. I haven&rsquo;t tested the Kalex yet, but I expect a competitive bike, I&rsquo;ll need to adapt my riding style&rdquo;. Last to speak was Bulega: &ldquo;In the final race of 2020 I hurt my shoulder and needed surgery. I&rsquo;m good now though, I&rsquo;ve worked hard with my trainer and cannot wait to start&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson Sky Racing team VR46 presents its 2021 colours and line-up       

The official presentation played out on social media channels this morning. Di Giannantonio, Bulega, Alcoba and Rodrigo are confirmed as riders. The attendees sent Fausto their best wishes

Team Gresini Racing unveiling: the 2021 team

        The season that has recently concluded at Portimao proved to be one of Fabio Di Giannantonio&rsquo;s toughest yet, the Italian finishing just fifteenth after a disappointing year. But in analysing his season, he still sees the positives, like the experience he&rsquo;s gained in facing adversity. &ldquo;Diggia&rdquo; is now ready to go back to wearing team Gresini Racing colours, before moving to MotoGP. How would you sum up 2020? &ldquo;We need to looks at both my performance and the final result. The latter is bad of course, fifteenth in the championship and with less points than last year. I&rsquo;m aware of that and very self-critical. But I also think I&rsquo;ve stepped up in terms of quality. The new front tyre confused things a little and we struggled to find the way as a team. I have to thank my manager Diego, my best friend Fabio and my trainer Daniele as they were always there for me. It was tough, the results didn&rsquo;t come and yet I gave it my all. Thanks to them, I didn&rsquo;t give up and was able to find the right feeling, becoming competitive again. I was the only rider to reach the podium with the Speed Up, twice, and I was very fast at the end of the year. I was lacking in results because I made many mistakes, this was just because I was doing my best and wouldn&rsquo;t settle for any old result. I just wanted to win, and when you want that, you take more risks&rdquo;.  How have your two years been with Speed Up? &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve been great from a human standpoint, it&rsquo;s a family team and I got on great with everyone. We had a lot of laughs. I think it was good from a sporting standpoint too, as in the first year I was the best rookie. This was perhaps the most important year in terms of my personal growth as a rider&rdquo;. And what will Fabio look like in 2021? &ldquo;Different, in that he&rsquo;s more aware of his potential. He&rsquo;s also calm because he&rsquo;s clear about the future. With Fausto I&rsquo;m back with the team I started with, ready to do well&rdquo;. Moto2, Sam Lowes: &ldquo;I want MotoGP, but not with Aprilia&rdquo; What do you expect from the Kalex? &ldquo;I never stop asking questions, I&rsquo;m so curious to ride it. It&rsquo;s a shame I got injured at Portimao and couldn&rsquo;t test it. I wanted to start the winter with an idea of how the Kalex is. I&rsquo;ve been to Fausto&rsquo;s base and it seems like a great bike&rdquo;. You&rsquo;re heading back to Fausto Gresini&rsquo;s team, what are your plans? &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve put together a good work plan. We chose the team members together and I&rsquo;m very proud of that. It&rsquo;s the first time I&rsquo;ve done that and makes me feel more a part of the team. I can&rsquo;t wait to work with the guys. We&rsquo;re now preparing a bike I can use to train and ride with the team, then I&rsquo;ll train with the kart and we&rsquo;ll go to the wind tunnel&rdquo;.  How will you spend the winter? &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll relax until 1 January, spending time with family, seeing friends. My head&rsquo;s already focused on 2021, I&rsquo;m counting the days and can&rsquo;t wait to start&rdquo;. What are your expectations for next season? &ldquo;The realistic goal is to put everything together to be the most complete rider possible&rdquo;. You&rsquo;ve also spoken with your new team-mate, Niccol&ograve; Bulega? &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been butting heads since we were small, for obvious reasons. We&rsquo;ve always been rivals. We&rsquo;ll have to collaborate but that&rsquo;s fine. We need to do right by ourselves but also by the team. We need to start behaving&rdquo;.  In 2022 you&rsquo;ll move to MotoGP, what does that mean to you? &ldquo;I start this year already knowing what will happen the following year. And that means I&rsquo;m relaxed and can focus 100% on 2021. A free mind and full throttle&rdquo;. Who are your main rivals? &ldquo;In Moto2 we&rsquo;re all so competitive and close. There are experienced riders up front, but also some surprises. I think Bezzecchi, Lowes, Gardner, Ramirez and Navarro will be up there. There&rsquo;ll be quite a few of us out to do well&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Briatore: &ldquo;I advise Rossi to stop. We want to remember him as champion&rdquo;       

After an uphill climb of a 2020, the Italian is already focusing on 2021 and the challenge that awaits him with team Gresini, as well as that all-important first taste of his new bike

Moto2, Di Giannantonio: “I’m counting the days until I’m with my Kalex”

        The Italian&rsquo;s second year in the intermediate class, riding for team Speed Up alongside Spaniard Jorge Navarro, has proved less than dazzling. After finishing thirteenth in the season opener at Qatar, the Italian failed to score a single point at the next five races, a crash at Jerez followed by four failed attempts to reach the points zone ruling him out of the running for the championship early on. At Misano he scored a seventh and eighth place finish, and from here things picked him, his first podium of the season (third) coming the following week during the Catalunya GP. Having got to grips with the bike, he looked to be back in form at the first Aragon GP, competitive right from Friday morning and up at the sharp end in the race. But as we&rsquo;ve seen this season, Sunday can often be a day to forget for him. He made a strong start at the Spanish track and was dominating the race along with Bezzecchi (fourth in the overall standings), but as soon as he took the lead in the final stages, he made a mistake after just two corners and found himself on the ground. The following weekend, at the same track, he avoided mistakes and finished second behind a stratospheric Lowes. Too many &lsquo;rookie mistakes&rsquo;  After the Aragon 2 podium came three consecutive zeros, the most unfortunate being that of Valencia 2, where on the very last lap, an overly enthusiastic Franco crashed out a few corners from the end while leading the race. This disaster was repeated at the final Portuguese event where, after a strong qualifying that saw him line up third, the Italian messed up the start and, in an impossible attempt (considering the trajectory) to make up as many places as possible, he crashed at turn one, also bringing down Nicol&ograve; Bulega (seventh on the grid). The many highs and lows have meant the young Italian has scored just 65 points this 2020 season, to finish fifteenth overall. A result that falls well below expectation for the 2019 Moto2 rookie of the year. A lacklustre season for Speed Up  His team-mate Navarro has also struggled this season, with too many crashes, eight in fifteen races to be precise. To put things in perspective, the Spaniard scored eight podiums in 2019, and was considered one of the favourites for the title as 2020 got underway. But like Fabio, Jorge was soon ruled out, ultimately concluding the championship in seventeenth position. Not exactly the best year for Luca Boscoscuro and his team then, but what&rsquo;s been the main problem in the Speed Up camp? A bike with too many problems, or a lack of commitment on the part of the riders? The pace and speed have definitely been there on occasion, so we might conclude that both parties are to blame for this lacklustre season, the bike seeming less competitive at times, while on other occasions it was more a case of rider inconsistency. Fabio is not short on talent, and was even one of the names on the list to replace Iannone in Aprilia in MotoGP, but perhaps it&rsquo;s too soon for him to make that move. In 2021 he will aim to grow and fight for the title right from the outset, in a season that will have a different flavour, similar to the one he experienced in Moto3 with team Gresini. The Gresini-Di Giannatonio pairing returns  Next year will see Fabio return to the team with which he spent three constructive years in Moto3. Fausto Gresini has chosen to bet on the Italian once more, welcoming him to the garage in 2021 alongside the team&rsquo;s current rider, Niccol&ograve; Bulega. New motivation for Fabio then, the title perhaps within his reach if he can avoid mistakes and immediately find feeling with his new bike. It&rsquo;s all in the Italian&rsquo;s hands, the rider a clear favourite for the title alongside 2020 stars Lowes and Bezzecchi. If Fabio can live up to expectation, perhaps the MotoGP doors will open for him already in 2022. Translated by Heather Watson Moto2, &ldquo;Beastly&rdquo; Bastianini's championship season       

2020 brought too many difficulties and too few results. The Italian was unable to fully live up to the high expectations surrounding him and needs to improve further, particularly in the race where he&rsquo;s prone to making mistakes