RideApart is sad to report that two-time 125cc champ and Gresini Team owner Fausto Gresini died on February 23, 2021, after a two-month battle with COVID-19. He was 60. Gresini contracted the disease shortly before Christmas in 2020, at which time he was hospitalized and placed in a medically-induced coma to allow him to heal.
Since that time, Gresini Racing has posted regular updates regarding his condition on all its social media channels, encouraging everyone to send their strength to help him recover. After persistent severe respiratory failure and interstitial pneumonia, Gresini sadly lost this fight just a few days after his 60th birthday.
Fausto Gresini started competing in the 125cc class of the 1983 World Championships, and then took his first race win in the class in 1984. By 1985, he won the entire 125cc championship title. He followed that performance by coming in second in the 1986 season, only to fight back and win his second championship title in 1987.
Race On:
Gresini competed in the saddle until 1994, and won 21 races throughout his career. After retiring from racing, he went on to become a team manager, and then a team owner. In one way or another, Fausto Gresini has been a fixture in world-class motorcycle racing for over three decades, nurturing the talents of Daijiro Kato, Toni Elias, Marco Simoncelli, Jorge Martin, and others along the way.
Since the team’s official announcement of Gresini’s passing, tributes have been pouring in from racers and teams around the world, both inside and outside of the motorcycle world. Gresini Racing will continue his legacy in the aftermath of this tragedy, but to say that it won’t be the same without him is a massive understatement.
He is survived by his family, friends, and the worldwide racing community he avidly participated in for his entire life. We at RideApart send our sincere condolences and best wishes to Gresini’s family, friends, and all who loved him.