TEAM GRESINI TURNS THINGS AROUND FOR 2019
RODRIGO AND ROSSI THE NEW LINE-UP AS KÖMMERLING JOINS AS TITLE SPONSOR
Team Gresini gets a whole new look for the 2019 Moto3 World Championship, starting from the rider line-up: Gabriel Rodrigo and Riccardo Rossi are the riders chosen to wear the prestigious white and blue colours of the Italian team.
The Argentine rider, who reached a one-year agreement with the team led by Fausto Gresini, will be the star of the team. With four Moto3 seasons under his belt and a podium finish in the Catalunya GP, Rodrigo – who has never raced with Honda before – has already proven to be among the quickest riders in this category at every track on the calendar.
Riccardo Rossi’s debut on the world stage, on the other hand, is perfectly in line with Team Gresini’s philosophy. The Italian rider, who has already shown speed and maturity both in the CIV – where he scored a win in Mugello – and the CEV championships, is getting ready for a learning year with the clear goal of becoming Rookie of the Year in 2019. He will use 54 as his racing number, in honour of his first mentor Mattia Pasini.
But that is not all: starting from next season and with an overall duration of three years, Team Gresini will also have a new Title Sponsor: leading company in the production of PVC profiles for doors and windows KÖMMERLING – which through its Italian branch and the CLUB KÖMMERLING ITALIA links together a series of companies of this sector – Gresini’s young-talent development project and will give their full support to Rodrigo and Rossi already from next year.
GABRIEL RODRIGO #19
“I’m over the moon for this new project; this is without a shadow of a doubt a perfect opportunity for my career. To be joining such a prestigious and top-level team like Gresini Racing is truly fantastic. I’m extremely grateful to Fausto for believing in me and I’m sure that we will do great things together. I will work and battle hard in order to make 2019 a great year for all of us.”
RICCARDO ROSSI #54
“I’m really, really happy and I would like to thank Fausto and my family for this great opportunity. I would like to be in the top-10 in my debut world championship season and I would surely love to become Rookie of the Year. I cannot wait to start! I chose 54 as my racing number because Mattia Pasini was my first mentor; I also used this number when I made my CEV debut as wildcard with Team Gresini.”
FAUSTO GRESINI
I’m really happy with this new line-up: Gabriel will make his debut on a Honda and with the team, but he already has a great amount of experience; we believe he can be among the leading protagonists in this category. Riccardo is a young Italian rider who will make the step up from the CIV championship to the world stage. This is the continuation of a philosophy that saw riders like Bastinanini, Diggia, Baldassarri, Antonelli and many others following the same path, and we hope it will allow Riccardo to shine, too. We are confident Rodrigo has what it takes to race at the front; next year we will also count on Kömmerling as the new title sponsor – in a partnership that is set to last for three years. This is something very important for us, so I would like to welcome everyone on board: we are charged up for 2019.”
ANDREA BULGARELLI, COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR OF KÖMMERLING ITALY: “Gresini racing is an institution with important values that we fully share, especially with regards to the professional growth of young riders. To invest on the future is a key philosophy of Kömmerling, who have always focused their efforts on the growth of their customers. Being the only producers on Italian soil of PVC profiles for windows, our partnership with the very Italian Team Gresini was like a natural step for us; we are confident that we will share a lot of joys and success in the next three years on a stage that will – without a doubt – give us great visibility.”
