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MotoGP, Ferrari and Savadori: Fausto Gresini's final gift to Aprilia

Lorenzo: "I would have liked to do for him what Fausto did for me", Ferrari: "Gresini believed in the riders and listened to them, a frank and concrete person, he helped to rescue me"

MotoGP: Ferrari and Savadori: Fausto Gresini's final gift to Aprilia

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Fausto Gresini was fond of talented young riders and obviously wanted to help their qualities emerge. Marco Simoncelli, Daijiro Kato, Fabio Di Giannantoio, but also Jorge Martin, Nicolò Bulega, Gabriel Rodrigo and Jorge Navarro. These are just some of the names he has focused on in all these years, achieving a lot of satisfaction along the way.

On the other hand, the former world champion had an eye for talent and the results are plain to see. A transversal commitment for him, from the minor categories to the premier class, which in 2022 would probably have seen him back on the starting blocks with his own satellite outfit. And who knows, maybe even with one of his last bets, Lorenzo Savadori, who this year will probably tackle his first season as an official rider in MotoGP with Aprilia.

Fausto turned out to be a sort of second father for Lorenzo, as well as a man of trust one can rely on in the most critical moments. It was not easy for Savadori to kick-start his career again after Aprilia had abandoned Superbike two years ago, even more so after the separation between Pedercini and Colombo last winter, which had brought an end to his SBK project on the Kawasaki.

Yet Fausto was in some ways the man behind his rebirth, tracing the way for him to become a MotoGP test rider and at the same time to achieve that long sought after Italian title in the CIV. The death of Gresini was too much of a shock for the Romagna man to take: "Fausto was my benchmark, he did a lot for me - Savadori told us - I'm sorry I didn't do the same for him".

It is easy to realize that there is despair on the part of Lorenzo, who tries to find the right words, but without succeeding, surrounded by grief. It’s the same grief that unites him with Matteo Ferrari, who gave Gresini the MotoE title. He also believed in Fausto’s project, i.e. the one linked to the electric championship, writing a page of history together with the man who might be destined to fill the role of MotoGP test rider in Aprilia.

After not being a part of the paddock since 2015, Ferrari came back into the World Championship with the dream of reaching the premier class: "What is there is say about Fausto, he was someone who believed in riders and tried to do his utmost to provide everything they needed to doing well - he told us he involved them, listened to them. For me he was the man who rescued me ".

The rapport between Ferrari and Gresini needs very few introductions: “I knew him from an early age, from the time of MiniGP - he revealed - he was a straightforward, concrete person, full of energy and a lot of kindness. We spoke just before Christmas for our well wishes and also a few words. He leaves a huge void in us all ”.

That void will certainly be difficult, if not impossible, to fill, especially within his team and all of Aprilia, to whom Fausto wanted to give one last gift before leaving us for good.

 

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