BOLOGNA, Italy – Fausto Gresini, a veteran member of the MotoGP paddock and team boss, has died after a two-month battle with COVID-19. He was 60 years old.
Gresini fell ill with COVID-19 days after Christmas in December and was hospitalized shortly thereafter, where he was put into a medically induced coma as he battled the virus.
Initially it appeared Gresini was making improvements and was taken out of the coma, but things took a turn for the worse when he contracted pneumonia and was placed back into the medically induced coma.
He eventually passed away Tuesday morning after his battle with the disease.
Prior to his career in the MotoGP paddock, Gresini captured a pair of 125cc world championships in 1985 and ’87.
After his retirement as a rider, Gresini stayed involved in the sport as a team owner. His Gresini Racing debuted in MotoGP in 2002 and has gone on to score 10 victories and nearly captured the MotoGP title three times, with Sete Gibernau (2003 and ’04) and Marco Melandri (’05) all finishing second in the standings for the team.
The team captured the 2020 Moto2 title with rider Toni Elias, the 2018 Moto3 title with Jorge MartÃn and the 2019 MotoE crown with Matteo Ferrari.