Alex Marquez will join Gresini Racing for 2023 MotoGP alongside Fabio di Giannantonio as a replacement of Enea Bastianini.
Ahead of Sunday’s action getting underway at the Motul TT Assen, Gresini Racing MotoGP have confirmed Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) will partner Fabio Di Giannantonio for the 2023 MotoGP season. The double World Champion will replace Enea Bastianini in the Gresini ranks next year, with the Italian moving to either the factory or Prima Pramac Racing Ducati set-up to ride a factory Desmosedici in 2023.
Born in Cervera, Alex Marquez has a top-level CV: he was Moto3 and Moto2 World Champion in 2014 and 2019 respectively, with a tally of 40 podiums that include 12 race wins – and two second places in the premier class back in 2020. The experienced 26-year-old will tackle his fourth season in the premier class, the first one with Ducati machinery.
Alongside the Spaniard will be Di Giannantonio, who is currently having great success tackling his rookie MotoGP season with Gresini. The Italian, who despite his young age has a long history with the squad, is among the contenders for the 2022 Rookie of the Year crown. He already has a pole position in the premier class and an eighth place as a best result.
Alex Marquez: “I’m really happy to announce that I’ll be joining Team Gresini MotoGP, and I’m also very excited to be starting this new adventure: it was crucial for me to change in order to recover the same type of motivation I had when I first joined this class. This was the best option for me, with a team that helped writing the history of this championship. I would like to thank Nadia, Carlo and all the GR staff for believing in me. I still have half a season left to do my best before starting 2023 with top motivation.”
Fabio Di Gianntonio: “I’m really happy to extend my partnership with this team, which is like a family to me. It’s great because we’ll continue on this learning curve, and we’ll be doing so with a Ducati – and that makes me very happy. Continuity is key in MotoGP in order to be able to work on myself to be the best possible. We have been working on this contract extension for a little while, and now we can finally announce it. Obviously the goals will be higher: we’ll be using this second part of the season to improve our results and then next year I really want to make that step up.”
Nadia Padovani Gresini, Team Owner: “I’m really happy with this new project. First of all we’re confirming our continuation with Fabio Di Giannantonio. He has already shown his talent this year, as he has been improving race after race, and I’m sure that he’ll keep getting more competitive. We were looking to put a more experienced rider alongside him, and I think Alex Marquez is the perfect one for our team. His CV speaks for itself: we think he has great potential and that the Desmosedici machine may be the perfect companion on his new journey. Welcome to the family, Alex!”
[Note: The story is as per press release]