Gresini Racing

Gresini Racing
2011 name MotoGP – Team San Carlo Honda Gresini
Moto2 – Gresini Racing Moto2
Base Faenza, Italy
Principal Fausto Gresini
Rider(s) MotoGP – 19 Alvaro Bautista
MotoGP – 51 Michele Pirro
Motorcycle MotoGP – Honda RC212V
Moto2 – Moriwaki MD600
Tyres MotoGP – Bridgestone
Moto2 – Dunlop
Riders' Championships 2
250ccDaijiro Kato (2001)
Moto2Toni Elías (2010)

Gresini Racing is a motorcycle racing team currently competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name Team San Carlo Honda Gresini and in the Moto2 World Championship under the name Gresini Racing Moto2.

The team was founded in 1997 by two-time 125cc world champion Fausto Gresini, after the end of his racing career. The team competed in the 500cc class for two seasons before dropping down to the 250cc class in 1999. In 2001, Gresini's rider Daijiro Kato won the 250cc title. The following season, the team stepped up to the MotoGP class, where they have been competing since. The team also competes in the Moto2 class since 2010. That season, Gresini's rider Toni Elías won the inaugural Moto2 title.

Contents

History

Fausto Gresini founded the team in 1997 with Fabrizio Cecchini as the technical director. The team competed in the 500cc class with Brazilian rider Alex Barros and a Honda NSR500V two-cylinder bike. Barros ranked ninth in the final championship standings, and managed to record the team's first podium finish at Donington Park. The following year, Honda decided to supply Barros and the team with a Honda NSR500 four-cylinder bike, the same bike that was used by the factory team. Barros recorded two podium finishes and a series of top-five finishes to collect 138 points and fifth place in the final standings.[1]

In 1999, the team dropped down to the 250cc class with a factory-supported Honda NSR250 and reigning 250cc world champion Loris Capirossi as the rider. In the first race of the season at Sepang, Malaysia, Capirossi took the first ever win for the Gresini team. During the season, he earned two more wins and six other podium finishes, and finished the season third in the final standings with 209 points.

After Capirossi stepped up to the 500cc for the 2000 season, the team signed young Japanese rider Daijiro Kato and French rider Vincent Philippe. Kato, who had already won two races as a wild-card racer in 1997 and 1998, made an instant impact with four consecutive podium finishes at the start of the season. He became a title contender for the 250cc title along with Yamaha riders Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque until the last race of the season at Phillip Island, Australia.[2] However, Kato finished third in the race and lost the title and the runner-up position to Jacque and Nakano respectively.[3] Kato's 259 points and third place in the championship handed him the Rookie of the Year award in the 250cc class.[4]

In 2001, the team was renamed Telefónica Movistar Honda and former 125cc world champion Emilio Alzamora was signed to replace Philippe.[5] With both Nakano and Jacque moving to the 500cc class, Kato became the main contender for the 250cc title. Kato dominated the season by winning 11 races during the season, handing the Gresini team their first world title.[6] Alzamora added two podium finishes for the team as he went on to finish seventh in the final standings.[7]

The team returned to the premier class in 2002 as Fortuna Honda Gresini with Kato as their sole rider. Due to the rule changes, the 500cc class was renamed MotoGP and the new 990cc four-stroke bikes were introduced by the factory teams.[8] Kato rode the older Honda NSR500 two-stroke bike for the first nine races of the season before he received the new Honda RC211V prior to the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno.[9] At the Spanish Grand Prix, Kato finished in second place for his first podium finish in the MotoGP class.[10] He matched his best finish with another second place at Brno, in his first race with the new four-stroke bike.[11] He also recorded the team's first ever pole position in the MotoGP class in the Pacific Grand Prix at Motegi, Japan.[12] Kato ranked seventh in the final standings with 117 points and won the Rookie of the Year award,[4] while the team ranked eighth in the MotoGP team standings.[13] The team also competed in the 250cc class with Alzamora and Italian rider Roberto Rolfo. Rolfo was ranked third in the final standings with seven podium finishes while Alzamora was seventh with two podiums.[14]

In 2003, the team expanded their MotoGP class effort to two riders and was renamed Telefónica Movistar Honda as title sponsor Telefónica joined from Suzuki. Former Suzuki rider Sete Gibernau also joined the team as their second rider.[15] Kato remained with the team and became one of four Honda official riders, riding the latest 2003-spec RC211V, while Gibernau was given the modified 2002 bike.[16] In the opening race at Suzuka, Japan, Kato crashed into the tyre barrier. He suffered serious injuries and went into a coma for two weeks before he died in hospital.[17] A week after Kato's death, Gibernau started from pole position and won the South African Grand Prix at Welkom, which marked the first race win for the Gresini team in the MotoGP class.[18] During the post-race interview, Gibernau dedicated the win for his late teammate.[19] He remained as the team's sole rider until reigning Japanese Supersport champion Ryuichi Kiyonari joined the team from the fourth race onwards. The team also promoted Gibernau to the 2003-spec bike left by Kato, while Kiyonari received the modified 2002 bike.[20] Gibernau won three more races and recorded a total of ten podium finishes as he took the second place in the championship with 277 points. The team was ranked fourth in the teams standings as Gibernau and Kiyonari scored a combined 299 points.[21]

In 2004, Gibernau fought for the championship and finished runner up. His team mate, Colin Edwards, finished fifth. Gibernau remained with the team for 2005 and was joined by Marco Melandri. Melandri won two races. In 2006 the team lined up Melandri and Toni Elías with Elías bringing Fortuna sponsorship back to the team, and the team achieved four victories, three for Melandri and one for Elías. Both riders remained with the team in 2007, albeit losing the Fortuna sponsorship due to European Tobacco Regulations. The team also changed their tyre supplier to Bridgestone. The new 800 cc Honda RC212V did not deliver the results expected and the team finished the season with 2 podiums. For 2008, Alex de Angelis and Shinya Nakano joined the team, with a new sponsor - San Carlo. For 2009, Elías re-joined the team, replacing Nakano who deferred to World Superbikes.

In 2010, Marco Melandri re-joined the team after a turbulent period riding for Ducati and Kawasaki, with 2008 250cc champion Marco Simoncelli announced as his new teammate. The Gresini team won the inaugural Moto2 division with rider Toni Elías aboard a Honda powered Moriwaki chassis. In the MotoGP division, Simoncelli finished eighth overall while Melandri ended the season in tenth place.

For 2011, Simoncelli was promoted to ride a factory Honda as part of the Gresini team, whilst Hiroshi Aoyama rode a satellite Honda for the team. Simoncelli was competitive at the top end of the field but a number of crashes kept his points score low. In October 2011 it was announced that Simoncelli would remain with the team for the 2012 season, however, Aoyama announced a move to Castrol Honda in the Superbike World Championship. On 23 October 2011, Simoncelli was killed after an accident at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Results

Summary

Year Class Team name Bike Riders Races Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points Pos.
1997 500cc Honda Gresini Honda NSR500V Alex Barros 15 0 1 0 0 101 9th
1998 500cc Honda Gresini Honda NSR500 Alex Barros 14 0 2 0 2 138 5th
1999 250cc Elf Axo Honda Gresini Honda NSR250 Loris Capirossi 15 3 9 2 3 209 3rd
2000 250cc Axo Honda Gresini Honda NSR250 Daijiro Kato 16 4 9 3 1 259 3rd
TSR-Honda NSR250 Vincent Philippe 12 0 0 0 0 14 23rd
2001 250cc Telefónica Movistar Honda Honda NSR250 Daijiro Kato 16 11 13 6 9 322 1st
Emilio Alzamora 16 0 2 0 0 136 7th
2002 MotoGP Fortuna Honda Gresini Honda NSR500
Honda RC211V[a]
Daijiro Kato 16 0 2 1 1 117 7th
250cc Fortuna Honda Gresini Honda NSR250 Roberto Rolfo 16 0 7 0 2 219 3rd
Emilio Alzamora 15 0 2 0 0 120 7th
David García 1 0 0 0 0 6 30th
2003 MotoGP Telefónica Movistar Honda Honda RC211V Sete Gibernau 16 4 10 1 1 277 2nd
Ryuichi Kiyonari 13 0 0 0 0 22 20th
Daijiro Kato 1 0 0 0 0 0
2004 MotoGP Telefónica Movistar Honda MotoGP Honda RC211V Sete Gibernau 16 4 10 5 3 257 2nd
Colin Edwards 16 0 2 0 2 157 5th
2005 MotoGP Movistar Honda MotoGP Honda RC211V Marco Melandri 17 2 7 0 3 220 2nd
Sete Gibernau 17 0 4 5 1 150 7th
2006 MotoGP Fortuna Honda Honda RC211V Marco Melandri 17 3 7 0 0 228 4th
Toni Elías 15 1 1 0 1 116 9th
2007 MotoGP Honda Gresini Honda RC212V Marco Melandri 17 0 3 0 0 187 5th
Toni Elías 15 0 2 0 2 104 12th
Michel Fabrizio 1 0 0 0 0 6 21st
Miguel Duhamel 1 0 0 0 0 0
2008 MotoGP San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V Shinya Nakano 18 0 0 0 0 126 9th
Alex de Angelis 18 0 0 0 0 63 14th
2009 MotoGP San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V Toni Elías 17 0 1 0 0 115 7th
Alex de Angelis 17 0 1 0 0 111 8th
2010 MotoGP San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V Marco Simoncelli 18 0 0 0 0 125 8th
Marco Melandri 17 0 0 0 0 103 10th
Moto2 Gresini Racing Moto2 Moriwaki MD600 Toni Elías 17 7 8 3 2 271 1st
Michele Pirro 1 0 0 0 0 2 36th
Vladimir Ivanov 15 0 0 0 0 2 37th
Tatsuya Yamaguchi 1 0 0 0 0 0
2011 MotoGP San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V Marco Simoncelli 16 0 2 2 0 139 6th
Hiroshi Aoyama[b] 16 (17) 0 0 0 0 90 (98) 10th
Kousuke Akiyoshi[b] 1 (2) 0 0 0 0 3 (7) 20th
Moto2 Gresini Racing Moto2 Moriwaki MD600 Michele Pirro 17 1 2 1 0 84 9th
Yuki Takahashi 17 0 2 0 0 77 11th
  • Results in brackets denote the total results for the season, including races for other teams.
  • a Kato rode a Honda NSR500 two-stroke bike in the first nine races and a Honda RC211V four-stroke bike in the last seven races of the season.[9]
  • b 1 2 Aoyama rode for Repsol Honda Team in the 2011 Dutch TT and was replaced by Akiyoshi.[22]

MotoGP results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Bike Tyres Riders 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Points Pos.
2002 M JPN SAF ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR BRA PAC MAL AUS VAL 117 8th
Honda NSR500 Daijiro Kato 10 4 2 Ret Ret 8 12 7 Ret
Honda RC211V 2 Ret Ret Ret 5 4 4
2003 Honda RC211V M JPN SAF ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER CZE POR BRA PAC MAL AUS VAL 299 4th
Sete Gibernau 4 1 Ret 1 7 3 1 2 1 2 4 2 4 2 4 2
Ryuichi Kiyonari 13 13 11 17 14 18 15 16 15 11 21 19 14
Daijiro Kato Ret
2004 Honda RC211V M SAF ESP FRA ITA CAT NED BRA GER GBR CZE POR JPN QAT MAL AUS VAL 414 2nd
Sete Gibernau 3 1 1 2 2 2 Ret Ret 3 1 4 6 1 7 2 4
Colin Edwards 7 7 5 12 5 6 6 5 2 7 9 Ret 2 11 4 8
2005 Honda RC211V M ESP POR CHN FRA ITA CAT NED USA GBR GER CZE JPN MAL QAT AUS TUR VAL 370 3rd
Marco Melandri 3 4 3 4 4 3 2 Ret Ret 7 6 Ret 5 2 4 1 1
Sete Gibernau 2 Ret 4 2 Ret 2 5 5 Ret 2 Ret Ret Ret 5 5 4 Ret
2006 Honda RC211V M ESP QAT TUR CHN FRA ITA CAT NED GBR GER USA CZE MAL AUS JPN POR VAL 344 4th
Marco Melandri 5 7 1 7 1 6 Ret 7 3 2 3 5 9 1 3 8 5
Toni Elías 4 8 5 11 9 7 Ret DNS 11 15 11 Ret 9 6 1 6
Michel Fabrizio DNS
2007 Honda RC212V B QAT ESP TUR CHN FRA ITA CAT GBR NED GER USA CZE SMR POR JPN AUS MAL VAL 297 5th
Marco Melandri 5 8 5 5 2 9 9 10 10 6 3 DNS 4 5 5 10 2 4
Toni Elías 14 4 2 Ret Ret 6 Ret 12 DNS 11 7 8 3 15 6 10
Michel Fabrizio 10
Miguel Duhamel Ret
2008 Honda RC212V B QAT ESP POR CHN FRA ITA CAT GBR NED GER USA CZE SMR IND JPN AUS MAL VAL 189 6th
Shinya Nakano 13 9 10 10 10 9 9 9 8 9 10 4 12 17 8 5 5 7
Alex de Angelis Ret 14 11 16 12 4 Ret 15 Ret 4 13 8 Ret 10 17 Ret 14 10
2009 Honda RC212V B QAT JPN ESP FRA ITA CAT NED USA GER GBR CZE IND SMR POR AUS MAL VAL 226 5th
Toni Elías 9 15 9 10 14 Ret 12 6 6 Ret 3 9 6 6 10 7 6
Alex de Angelis 6 13 14 11 15 12 10 11 5 8 4 2 Ret Ret 4 12 10
2010 Honda RC212V B QAT ESP FRA ITA GBR NED CAT GER USA CZE IND SMR ARA JPN MAL AUS POR VAL 228 5th
Marco Simoncelli 11 11 10 9 7 9 Ret 6 Ret 11 7 14 7 6 8 6 4 6
Marco Melandri 13 8 6 5 Ret DNS 9 10 8 8 Ret 10 9 11 9 9 9 13
2011 Honda RC212V B QAT ESP POR FRA CAT GBR NED ITA GER USA CZE IND SMR ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 232 4th
Marco Simoncelli 5 Ret Ret 5 6 Ret 9 5 6 Ret 3 12 4 4 4 2 C
Hiroshi Aoyama 10 4 7 8 Ret 9 11 15 10 9 9 11 11 9 Ret C 12
Kousuke Akiyoshi 13

References

  1. ^ "Castrol Moto – Fausto Gresini". Castrol. http://www.castrolmoto.com/en/motor_racing/moto_gp_feature.php?feature_id=69. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  2. ^ "A turn-of-the-century showdown for two YZR250 riders! Down to the last corner of the lst lap!". Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. http://www.yamaha-motor.co.jp/global/race/wgp-50th/column/vol29/. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  3. ^ 2000 "Australian Grand Prix – 250cc World Championship Classification" (PDF). MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 29 October 2000. http://resources.motogp.com/files/results/2000/250cc/AUS/world+standing.pdf 2000. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  4. ^ a b "Daijiro Kato, first Rookie of the Year in the MotoGP class". MotoGP.com (Dorna Sports). 6 November 2002. http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2002/Daijiro+Kato+first+Rookie+of+the+Year+in+the+MotoGP+class. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  5. ^ "Alzamora signs for Gresini". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 3 November 2000. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/69061/1/alzamora_signs_for_gresini.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  6. ^ "Katoh clinches 250cc World Championship". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 21 October 2001. http://www.crash.net/motogp/race+report/70138/1/katoh_clinches_250cc_world_championship.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  7. ^ 2001 "Brazilian Grand Prix – 250cc World Championship Classification" (PDF). MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 3 November 2001. http://resources.motogp.com/files/results/2001/250cc/BRA/world+standing.pdf 2001. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  8. ^ "Suzuka heralds the new era". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 3 April 2002. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/70415/1/suzuka_heralds_the_new_era.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  9. ^ a b "Kato gets RC211V for Brno". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 19 July 2002. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/70860/1/kato_gets_rc211v_for_brno.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  10. ^ "Rossi win caps Honda fiesta in Jerez". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 5 May 2002. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/70580/1/rossi_win_caps_honda_fiesta_in_jerez.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  11. ^ "Biaggi victorious as Rossi gets tyred". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 25 August 2002. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/70966/1/biaggi_victorious_as_rossi_gets_tyred.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  12. ^ "First MotoGP pole for homeboy Kato". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 5 October 2002. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/71190/1/first_motogp_pole_for_homeboy_kato.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  13. ^ "2002 Valencian Community Grand Prix – MotoGP World Championship Classification" (PDF). MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 3 November 2002. http://resources.motogp.com/files/results/2002/MotoGP/VAL/world+standing.pdf. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  14. ^ "2002 Valencian Community Grand Prix – 250cc World Championship Classification" (PDF). MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 3 November 2002. http://resources.motogp.com/files/results/2002/250cc/VAL/world+standing.pdf. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  15. ^ "Gibernau joins Telefonica at Gresini Honda". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 2 November 2002. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/71436/1/gibernau_joins_telefonica_at_gresini_honda.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  16. ^ "Sete: I don't want Kato's bike". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 10 April 2003. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/71953/1/sete_i_dont_want_katos_bike.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  17. ^ "Kato dies from crash injuries". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 19 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/2932989.stm. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  18. ^ "Gibernau takes dream win!". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 27 April 2003. http://www.crash.net/motogp/race+report/72046/1/gibernau_takes_dream_win.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  19. ^ "Gibernau dedicates win to Kato". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 27 April 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/2980089.stm. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  20. ^ "Gibernau gets Kato's bike, Kiyonari joins MotoGP". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 8 May 2003. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/72107/1/gibernau_gets_katos_bike_kiyonari_joins_motogp.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  21. ^ "2003 Valencian Community Grand Prix – MotoGP World Championship Classification" (PDF). MotoGP.com. Dorna Sports. 2 November 2003. http://resources.motogp.com/files/results/2003/MotoGP/VAL/world+standing.pdf. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 
  22. ^ "Pedrosa out of Assen, Aoyama in at Repsol Honda". Crash.net (Crash Media Group). 22 June 2011. http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/170534/1/pedrosa_out_of_assen_aoyama_in_at_repsol_honda.html. Retrieved 26 October 2011. 

External links