The San Carlo Honda Gresini Team’s official presentation took place yesterday at the Telenova studios in Milan, hosted by presenter Franco Bobbiese, during his show Griglia di Partenza ( our readers already know about this show) where Team Manager Fausto Gresini alongside the President of San Carlo introduced his all-Italian ‘dream team’ Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli to the world press (and Italian TV viewers last night).

Here’s what everyone said in the usual official press release, but the show was much more interesting with some clowining around and some cute anecdotes by short Marco and tall Marco, including the legendary Giacomo Agostini (via video) advising Simoncelli to take one step at a time after his big highside during the Sepang 2 tests.

Fausto Gresini : “Today was a really special day because a personal dream of mine has been fulfilled - having two top riders contest the MotoGP World Championship with my team and an Italian sponsor like San Carlo. I am proud to represent Italy around the world and I am looking forward to going racing this year - hopefully we can ensure that our flag flies high at circuits all over the world.”

Continue reading: San Carlo Honda Gresini presents his 'almost' All-Italian Team

250cc World Champion Hiroshi Aoyama has decided to debut in the upcoming 2010 MotoGP season with #7. Aoyama had to give up his victory #4 because Andrea Dovizioso already uses the same number and following Chris Vermeulen’s return to WSBK, #7 became available.

Vermeulen was using the number seven in honour of the GP legend Barry Sheene, while Aoyama chose the number to honour the late Daijiro Kato who use to race with #74 and died tragically at Suzuka in 2003 in his second season of MotoGP. Kato was Japan’s last 250cc World Champion in 2001 before Aoyama won the championship this year.

#74 was retired from MotoGP, but Aoyama will use the other digit that composed Kato’s racing number.

Several riders who raced with Kato at Suzuka that year, still display a small #74 on some part of their helmets or bikes or when they race at Motegi, Japan they exhibit the number in his memory.

Since 2007, in the week before the Misano GP, the Dedikato (dedicated to the memory of Daijiro Kato) charity event takes place. Organized by Fausto Gresini of Team Gresini and in collaboration with the city of Misano besides the charity event, a public talk show takes place with numerous GP riders and personalities talking about road safety and racing.

Continue reading: Hiroshi Aoyama remembers Kato and will race with #7

The Moto2 championship hasn’t even begun and we’ve already got team owners who want to take rogue riders to court.

Speaking to Catalunya Radio, Sito Pons, who unveiled his Pons Kalex prototype today at Valencia, confirmed that he may decide to take Toni Elias to court for breach of contract.

According to the Spanish manager, Elias had already signed a contract to ride for his Moto2 team in 2010, but the Spanish rider reneged on his contract and decided to go to Fausto Gresini’s Moriwaki Moto 2 team, but officially Gresini has yet to announce who will be his two riders and he’s not even sure he’ll have a Moto2 team due to the exorbitant costs.

Gresini has deposited the $25,000 registration fee, invested in the bikes already spending €400.000, but needs a further € 1.400.000 and the Italian team manager for the first time in twelve years is closing his budget in the red.

Source | dailymotos and gpone

Continue reading: Moto2 - Sito Pons to take Toni Elias to Court?

Toni Elias was supposed to have signed with Sito Pons Moto2 team when the Spanish rider couldn’t find a MotoGP who wanted him, has had second thoughts about Pons’s capability of paying his future salary.

Hector Barbera, who rides for the Pons’s PepeWorld Team in 250cc, during the Sepang free practice sat out the first twelve minutes in protest against the Spanish team manager who had not paid his salary and this may be the reason Elias has changed his mind.

Pons who announced at Sepang that he would be using the German Kalex motorcycle prototype has now fallen back on rider Alex Debon to spearhead his new team, while Elias seems to be staying with Fausto Gresini, albeit in the Moto2 team, despite Gresini stating that he has problems finding funds in order to run the two bikes designed by Moriwaki. Budget problems are also the reason that Lucio Cecchinello has abandoned plans to run a team in Moto2.

Today will be the last day for all new Moto2 teams to confirm their partecipation in series by paying a 17.000 euro security deposit and at Valencia GP, we’ll probably have more news about who will be actually be in the series.

Continue reading: Moto2 - Toni Elias changes his mind about Pons

Fausto Gresini of Team San Carlo Honda Gresini has announced that he will set up a team for the new Moto 2 series, that will replace the present 250cc Championship in 2010.

Speaking to Italian website GPOne, the former 2 times 125 cc World Champion turned team manager said: “ Next Friday when I arrive at Mugello, the first thing I’m going to do after speaking to Carmelo Ezpeleta is to enter Moto 2 with a team.”

“At the begining it’s going to be expensive to build a Moto2” added Gresini, “I think that the right price would be what they ask you for an official Aprilia, and obviously the investment is destined to pay off in the future. The most important thing is that the team will have an important image to sell.”

Continue reading: Fausto Gresini announces Moto 2 Team

The San Carlo Honda Gresini Team officially launched its 2009 MotoGP campaign. The team, led by two-time 125cc world champion Fausto Gresini, took off on its 2009 journey at the ‘Officine del Volo’ in Milan.

Fausto Gresini and Alberto Vitaloni, President of San Carlo Gruppo Alimentare, carried out the honours and presented the 2009 team line-up.

Riders Alex De Angelis and Toni Elias will assume riding duties for the Faenza-based squad this year with De Angelis continuing for a second season and Elias rejoining the Honda Gresini family after one year of absence. The San Marinese and the Spaniard unveiled the new liveries on their 2009-spec RC212V machines, emblazoned with the logo of title sponsor San Carlo.

Continue reading: Team Gresini Official 2009 Launch