Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing Moto2) – returning to the 2021 season with the team with whom he was runner-up behind Jorge Martin Moto3 in 2018 (© Gresini Racing).

Team presentations will be over soon – tests in many places

We stand by the fact that we are only marginally interested in the presentations by teams and drivers, especially before the coming season. Basically this time it is all the more old wine in new bottles. In other words, technically almost unchanged bikes are presented with the riders in mostly only slightly changed designs. After all, this time not with a lot of fanfare at specially established press conferences, but well-behaved Corona-compliant on the Internet.

One of the most unequal duos for the 2021 season with Jorge Martin on the left and Johann Zarco on the right, the new hope for Pramac Racing. While the man on the right in the picture is good for a spectacle and top places despite all previous prophecies of doom, his teammate has little known advantages apart from a Moto3 title in 2018 and two Moto2 GP victories. In contrast to the French, he has to prove that he is eligible for promotion to MotoGP (© MotoGP).

No surprises – shocking irreverence instead
We had predicted that no team or driver would be allowed to announce just to want to compete in the back places. This went completely without a crystal ball and because Fausto Gresini, a long-serving team boss, is no longer with us, we start with the more interesting part of this article with the tests of his team. We noted with regret that even before his funeral, some journalists fell like vultures with rumors and headlines about his team and even questioned the continued existence of Pramac Racing straight away. At this point we would like to emphasize that with such indolence a limit has been exceeded and this must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. By the way, here is the link for the team presentations, if you would like to see this with many pictures in color: www.motogp.com

A picture from happier days for Gresini Racing from 2018 – Fausto Gresini with his Moto2 rider Sam Lowes (left) and the two Moto3 riders Fabio Di Giannantonio (far right) and Enea Bastianini. For the 2021 season, Fabio returned to Gresini Racing as a moto2 hope after having competed in this class for Speed Up for the past two years (© Gresini Racing).

The first test feedback from Valencia by Gresini Racing

Fabio Di Giannantonio – Number 21 (best lap time 1’35.9, a good second above the best lap so far in Valencia):
„I’m super happy with how we started the on-track work with the team. To be honest, I was expecting a slightly different bike, a more complicated one… while instead the initial feelings are excellent, even though I will have to work on my riding style to get used to it. We haven’t lapped a lot but the work was so important ahead of Portimao. I think getting on track was the best thing also to deal with the different emotions we are currently facing. I feel that to work hard and stay focused on the goals will be the best way to say goodbye to Fausto. Our goal was to win and to a great job, so we’ll try to do that for him.“

Fabio Di Giannantonio in his new outfit for the Moto2 team of the late Fausto Gresini (© Gresini Racing).

Nicolò Bulega – Number 11 (Valencia test best time 1’36.3):
“Unfortunately we haven’t lapped as much as we’d hoped, but the feeling in general is very good, both on the bike and with the team. The team is excellent, and we can improve so much together. About Fausto, I really don’t know what to say… this situation has really hurt us, we have lost him in a matter of few days and the pain is huge. Maybe we still haven’t fully realized what happened, but we took to the track to honor him and pushed to the maximum as he would have liked us to.“

Nicolò Bulega in his second year for the Gresini Moto2 Team – for the former Sky VR46 pilot, the first podium in the middle class should finally become a reality in 2021 (© Gresini Racing).

The provisional MotoGP and WSBK calendar for 2021

A replacement for Brno is currently missing and in WorldSBK at least two events are currently still undefined. In addition, there is likely to be a more than big question mark behind San Juan and Indonesia due to the pandemic. This is especially true for the numerous MotoGP events overseas. Even with the questionable test and the start of the season in Qatar, FIM and Dorna are taking an incomprehensible risk. Unfortunately, MotoGP also starts with a ghost race, which at least affects spectators from outside the desert state. Entry for tourists is strictly prohibited due to the pandemic. Incidentally, if you do not install the Covid-19 app in Qatar and move around in the open air, you risk up to 2 years in prison!

The contract has not yet been signed for the WSBK Australia Round. The MotoGP race dates, which collide with a WorldSBK weekend, are written in red, which only means a real overlap at the San Marino GP. Due to the time change in Japan and Indonesia, however, this is not critical. However, these dates are considered highly questionable anyway.