Fausto Gresini
Before Gresini Racing became a world championship-winning team, Fausto Gresini was a fixture in the 125cc world championships as a rider. He won two 125cc world championships, finished runnerup three times, and third once, with 25 Grands Prix wins.
Without doubt, one of the toughest racers to ever take the GP circus. Gresini was the epitome of the 1980s on the small capacity machines and continues that ethos towards going round in circles even today as a Motogp bigwig. This is his story.
Watching the racing in his native Imola, Gresini was drawn to the sport, especially the famous F750 races held there, featuring his hero, Marco Lucchinelli. Fausto: “Day by day it improved – the passion. My first motorcycle, in 1979, was a Minarelli, a 50cc race bike. For my first race, at Misano, I was aged 17 and retired with a broken engine. Then in my second race I crashed... it got better. “I spent only one year on the 50cc and then moved to the Aspes 125cc trophy for 1980. The 125cc Italian championship was in 1981, and I modified the Aspes with a different frame and for 1982 I used a Mallanca and won four or five races, but not the championship. It
was crash or win, I was very aggressive”. People often underestimate the challenge of racing a 125 Grand Prix machine. Kel Carruthers: “People don't realise just how much effort you had to put into riding a 125. You make a little mistake on a 125 and you’ve lost ground. On a bigger bike, you make a little mistake and get back on it again and not lose all that much. “The best lap I ever did at the Isle of Man was a little CR93 Honda going around at like 89mph, and it was a perfect lap almost. You have to be tucked in all the way.” And there was an exception to that rule as well. Kel: “I’ve been down Bray Hill at 160mph, and on the 125 I’d be sitting up watching the rev counter, because you didn’t dare go over 14,000 rpm and the five-speed was geared for Sulby Straight, not for going down the big hills. So, I’d look like some dummy coming down Bray Hill sitting up on a 125…” As they say, it is easier to smooth out a fast guy, than to speed up a slow guy, and Fausto was moving up into the European championship and 125 world championships. “For 1983 I started to ride the MBA in the European championships, and the Italian championships with some Grand Prix races. The first race in the Italian championship was important to MBA for they were fighting with
Garelli’s Lazzarini and Bianchi and I won with the standard MBA.” The Garelli factory team was Angel Nieto and Eugenio Lazzarini, and had finished 1-2 in the 1982 world championship. For 1983 they were again on their winning ways, with four 1-2 finishes in the first five races. Gresini recalls: “In Rijeka, Yugoslavia, Lazarini was injured and so Garelli took me in the middle of the season at Rijeka. In my first race I started from pole position and was fighting with Bianchi and crashed.” Later in the season, Gresini was to take ninth at Spa, sixth at Silverstone, and second in Anderstorp, finishing out the season ninth in the championship. Fausto and the others in the 125cc contingent were being noticed by the stars of the 500cc class, but not in way that one would expect. Kenny Roberts brings a unique perspective, as always: “In those days you were preparing to do your race, and not watching other races, but anybody that won that many races… I remember the little s##ts because they would start the 125s and 50s next to your motorhome at 6 o’clock in the f***ing morning. That’s the most memorable part. I remember Lawson’s first year with him yelling ‘shut the f**k up.’ I told him, ‘you’d better get used to it dude’.” 1984 brought Gresini to the forefront of the 125cc world. Still on the MBA for the first few races (fourth at the Nurburgring), it was the Angel Nieto show on the Garelli, winning the first six races in a row. The winning streak was broken by Fausto, now mounted again on the Garelli, who won in Sweden by almost four seconds, taking fastest lap. Fausto: “There were banked corners at Sweden. It was a difficult track but I found the right way to ride it, and do those kinds of corners. The secret was the braking, you were braking very late, maybe 30 or 40m than the others because the parabolic banking would allow you to do it. There was also the bumps and I was controlling the bike on the bumps better than others from my settings.” Anderstorp was Gresini’s favourite track and had stellar performances there across his career. A third place followed in the season finale at Mugello, leaving Gresini third in the world championship, behind Garelli team-mates Nieto and Lazzarini. However, Garelli closed their factory team at the end of 1984. Garelli was still involved for the next few seasons, but through a private team. Gresini: “I won my first championship in 1985 with Team Italia on the Garelli, who got everything from the factory, so they were now the factory team. The bike was the same.” Fausto had taken three wins (Salzburgring, Spa, and Misano), and three second places to clinch the championship by 10 points over Pierpaolo Bianchi’s MBA. 1986 was a year where Gresini could well have repeated that world championship, if it weren’t for Luca Cadalora, also on the Garelli. It started well, with wins in the first two races. Cadalora countered with three straight wins and pole positions. Fausto: “I broke my collarbone and a couple of vertebrae in Austria, crashed into Cadalora when coming from behind. I was back on the bike for the next race, but I was not 100%.
I lost the championship because of a fourth place. I had four wins. One of the best races I can remember was at Hockenheim (in the season finale), when I won against Cadalora.” Gresini had again won in Sweden as well. 1987 was Fausto’s greatest season, taking 10 straight wins out of 11 races. “I was very angry after 1986 about not winning the championship. I had made a lot of mistakes, so I started very aggressive with less respect for the opponents, racing harder.” Second is first loser? “Yes. I could have won easily in 1986 but I didn’t. I didn’t want to leave anything to the others in 1987.” In the final race of the season, Fausto crashed, fighting to the end. “After all those wins, maybe I was not so focused, and made a mistake from a lack of concentration. Winning a lot in a season, by the end you take things less seriously. You need determination and concentration.” His new Garelli teammate Bruno Casanova had been left with 88 points in second, hopelessly behind the 150 points of Gresini. Fausto Gresini’s domination in winning his second world championship was total. There are few riders that can even begin to comment about the experience and pressures of winning the first 10 races in a season, and Marc Marquez is one. Marc: “Of course, in the beginning when you win the first one, the second one, the third one, it becomes like extra motivation. But then when you arrive at the bigger numbers, it becomes extra pressure because everybody expects, and it looks like second place would be a disaster. But it was an incredible feeling, a very sweet feeling. The most difficult point was at the race where I didn’t win, which was Brno (race 11). I finished fourth, even out of the podium, and it was like a crash, it was disappointing. But it was 10… “Fausto’s achievement winning the 10 straight impressed the other racers. 1969 250cc world champion Kel Carruthers: “It’s a bit of a problem and you’d sure as hell have to have the best bike, that’s the first thing. Just to win 10, period, is a pretty good deal. There was a time, obviously back then when some bikes were a lot better than the others and there was a period like that in 125s. But you still have to ride it.” Randy Mamola: “It was one of those runs that not only nabbed him the title, it just destroyed the opposition and it was just great.” At this point, Fausto had nearly won three straight championships, but for 1988, Garelli took away the two-cylinder machine and had a new single-cylinder version for Gresini. Fausto took fourth in the first Grand Prix at Jarama, but it flattered to deceive. Fausto: “This bike was a complete disaster. The problem was the frame and chassis, it was impossible to control. The engine was not the best one either. It was impossible to corner, it had a monobox chassis, was very low and was flexible in the wrong ways. I asked to use the old chassis but it wasn’t allowed because they chose to focus on the new one. In some races I was not even able to qualify. “The last race of 1988, in the Czech Republic, I asked to put the single cylinder engine in the old chassis for the warm-up. I did the fastest lap while still in the race, and was catching the leaders while running third. With four laps left the engine broke. This was to show what I could do if they gave me what I asked for.” Gresini had finished first in points, a shocking fall from his former prominent position in the class.
Fausto would sometimes show up to test at the Italian Championships through the season. “I was doing it only as training, only for testing.” It was a much bigger thing to one of the other competitors, 15 year old Loris Capirossi. Loris: “In my family, my father was a great patron of motorcycles, and I was born in Imola like Fausto. Many times I see Fausto in Imola and always when I would see him it was like “wow, he’s my hero”.when you are a kid and you see your hero, it is like now when you see a beautiful woman and it takes your breath away. The first time I ride with him, it was 1988 and I was doing the Italian Championship. Fausto at that time was riding the Garelli 125 mono-cylinder and he came to test in the Italian Championship. He had that black bike with the number one on it. Also that bike was not fast, but Gresini was really fast at that time. I was riding a TM 125, a famous Italian motocross bike. The Italian championship at that time, the level is good, but not like a World Championship. When some rider comes from the World Championship, he is really fast. For sure the Garelli is a really bad bike, after winning the championship the previous year, I can’t imagine. After that, Garelli stopped racing.” For 1989 Fausto switched to Aprilia. “It was another disaster season. I had a couple of podiums, but Aprilia’s focus was on the 250 that year. 1990 brought Fausto to the Pileri team and Honda, along with the 17 year old Capirossi. Gresini -“It was not that bad of a year. I was injured in Misano and lost the chance to win the championship that year. Loris was a ‘banbino’ and I had to protect him.” Loris: “Immediately we had a great relationship because for me was my hero and I had the opportunity to learn from him. Also at that time, normally we did not use a plane to go around Europe and we would always go by car. I would always travel with him and we spent a lot of time together. He was fighting for the title in 1990, but he was really unlucky because in Misano during practice he crashed and broke his foot. I started the championship with the standard bike, not the factory bike, but after Fausto’s crash in Misano, the owner proposed me to use this bike in the next race, and ended up on the podium. I felt it was a good opportunity, but for sure, at the time Fausto was faster.” Capirossi won the 125cc championship by winning the final race in Australia. At one point, championship contender Spaan hit Gresini in the head with his hand during the race. Fausto: “I didn’t react, but I understood it. Spaan was nervous, and it was a natural reaction as he felt I was protecting Loris for the Championship.” Spaan was caught in a swarm of Italian riders who weren’t intent upon granting him any favors. Former Moto GP Race Director Paul Butler: “It wasn’t just Fausto, it was that all of the Italian 125 riders ganged up on Spaan. There was no way that Hans Spaan was going to get the points he needed.” Was it was the 4 Musketeers… all for one, and one for all? Paul: “Absolutely, that was it.” Long time team manager Giampiero Sacchi: “Nobody came out and said, ‘I help you’ to Loris. Spaan could have won the championship, but then he started fighting with Fausto, and in the end Loris was World Champion.” Loris Capirossi is quick to credit Gresini for his part in the final result: “For sure Fausto helped me a lot on the last race at Philip Island, when I win my first championship.” 1991 was the showdown between Gresini and Capirossi, teacher and student, both 125cc World Champions. Fausto: “In 1991 we fought for the Championship, and Loris won in the end. It was different finishing second to Loris. He was very young and I was 31, and it changed my mentality. Loris was young, strong, and I crashed once or twice more than Loris. He was like my baby. It was a completely different feeling for him, than for the other riders.” Loris: “By 1991 I had the feeling to be fast, but the big battle was always with my teammate, with Fausto. Normally, the first target is to beat your teammate, you know. But with Fausto that season, many times I was faster than him, and many times he was faster than me. The difference between me and him in the championships was that I was a little more constant, always I finished the race and get points. He would win… and crash.” The Pileri teammates finished 1-2 in the World Champoinship. Franco Uncini: “Mario Ciamberlini, my previous mechanic with the Suzuki works bike, went to work for Pileri and was working for Fausto. Back when I started this job (Motogp safety officer) in 1992, anytime I would ask Fausto a question, he would always be ready to answer, always ready to help. He would always take the time to help me with my job as the rider safety delegate.” 1992 was Fausto’s last real challenge for the 125GP title, winning his last victory in Donington, finishing second in the World Championship. Fausto: “For 1993 I changed my team, but stayed with Honda. I understood that there was no chance to win, but the team was not up to that level, and lost my motivation. It had changed.” 1994 was the last season for Gresini the racer. “For 1995 I started with the 500s for Team Pileri, and was like a coach for Loris. I would go around the track and watch him. For 1997, Loris went with Yamaha and the Rainey team, but his conditions changed and staying in Holland was too much and I said no. So, I was doing the 500s with Alex Barros running the Honda V-twin. For 1998 we stayed with the 500s and had a 4 cylinder Honda factory bike, again with Barros.” It was time to step back with an opportunity to be a top factory team, hence 1999 saw Fausto running a team, again with Honda. The three rider Aprilia team of 1998 had a complicated ending, with Loris diving
up the inside of Harada in the final turn of the season. After a contentious post-season fight, newly crowned 250 Champion Loris and Aprilia were no longer a team. Gresini: “Honda in that moment did not have a good bike, but was working on it, and would supply my team with a factory bike. Their condition was that I had a top rider, and my relationship with Loris was very good.” Loris: “The situation was strange. When I won the 1998 championship I had a big fight with Aprilia because of that race with Harada. Aprilia decided to put me out from the team. Valentino and Harada were also riding for Aprilia and I was riding the factory bike for a satellite team, with the same team that Valentino won the 125cc World Championship, his first championship. After the ‘big discussion’ with Aprilia, I decided to go out. The Honda at the time was not a really good bike, it was not fast in 1998. But, Fausto decided to go with the team and we worked really hard with Honda. At that time it was not really easy to find the money to build a big team, especially for 500, so I decided to go a little bit back (to 250).” The season’s opening race was in Malaysia. Gresini: “The Honda was improved for 1999. It was a surprise to Loris. We won the first race, heh, heh…” Fausto- “. At Assen, Loris won an incredible race with Valentino to win in the last corner. He really wanted to beat the Aprilia, and it was motivation.” Loris: “It was a strange season for me in 1999. We had a disqualification for contact in Mugello. But I came back stronger to win in Assen, winning the best race ever in ’99 between me and Valentino. On the last lap, we overtake 4 or 5 times and I take him in the last corner.” In what was most memorably a Rossi steamroller season in taking the 250 World Championship, at mid-season there was a race in Imola, hometown to both Gresini and Capirossi. Fausto: “At Imola, it was perfect. Every practice, he was the best. Incredible, I was surprised. But it was the last Grand Prix held in Imola and it was our home track. It was magic.” Loris: “That race I will never forget because we were quite fast during the practice, and because me and Fausto live pretty close to the track, across the river. For sure it was a great opportunity to win again, to beat Valentino. The conditions were a little bit strange, not wet but not completely dry. Everybody started with slick tires for sure, but in the beginning of the race I risked a lot, with a little bit of a battle. In the end I win with a couple of second advantage from Valentino. It was a good moment, as 1999 was the last race for Grand Prix racing at Imola, and I win. We had a good party with all my friends at my house.” Loris: “For sure ’99 was a good season for me, and for sure I have a great remembrance about Fausto because he does everything with his heart. 100% the team did a lot of work. That bike is being rebuilt now by Fausto… I want that bike. We already have an agreement, I want that for my museum in Monte Carlo. I have my Ducati, my Suzuki, the Honda, and my first and second racing bikes.”
In the years to come, Fausto’s team went from success to success. In 2001, Daijiro Kato won the 250cc World Championship with Gresini Racing, taking 11 wins on the way. Gresini moved up to the Moto GP class with Kato and for 2003, he was joined Sete Gibernau. It began an era that saw Gresini racing and Gibernau was the top Honda team challenge to Valentino Rossi at Yamaha. In the years since then, Gresini Racing has won titles in Moto 2 (Tony Elias 2010) and Moto 3 (Jorge Martin 2018), and is also the factory team for Aprilia in Moto GP. Not bad for a 17 year old kid from Imola with a 50cc racer and a dream.