A NEW BIKE, NEW TYRES AND A NEW COLOUR SCHEME: THE GRESINI
HONDA TEAM FACES THE START OF THE SEASON WITH RENEWED ENTHUSIASM.
 After
a long series of winter testing overseas, the MotoGP comes
back to Europe for the last appointment before the start of
the championship, on the 10th of March in Qatar.
From tomorrow to Sunday all MotoGP teams will be back on
track at Jerez, in Spain.
The countdown is over. Everything is in place for a fresh,
exciting challenge.
The Gresini Honda Team unveils the new bike with the new
colour, ready for another exciting season.
FAUSTO GRESINI, Team Manager and Team owner: "
For 2007, with the motorcycles warming up already, we're facing
a double-edged technical challenge: the 800cc era has got
underway and we'll be tackling it on the back of the Bridgestone-shod
RC212V.
We've got a solid team made up of two young racers we have
absolute faith in and who show great promise. There's Marco
Melandri, world championship runner-up in 2005 and a major
contender last year: with 5 wins and 12 podiums on our bike,
he has been one of the main world title hopes over the past
two years. We've won a lot together but we are aiming to go
even higher. Marco has shown that he's a very talented rider,
capable of amazing feats, who packs a powerful punch and has
the will to win. We're proud that the project we set up together
with Honda in 2005 is still going strong and flying our colours.
This is the jewel in our crown that we're counting on in the
title challenge.
Now in his second year riding a Honda in our team is Toni
Elias. Confident as we are of his potential, our goal is to
develop this young man's talents even further and hopefully
he'll carry on making the most of his trademark determination,
as he did last year when he was rewarded with his first MotoGP
victory at Estoril, the culmination of a race he dominated
in true champion style.
Our partnership with the multi-award-winning manufacturer,
Honda HRC, which has always supplied us with highly competitive
bikes, allows us to shine with a starring role in the top
class.
We have once again got the support of major companies. Some
have been with us for many years and along with their products
they have helped us achieve our best results. Others have
joined us this year, enthusiastically becoming part of the
heart-thumping world of motorcycling.We are proud to be so
closely associated with Honda Italia and its ever-passionate
and professional attitude to competitions. Our partnership
with them has been long and fruitful.
We are glad to welcome Bridgestone as our new technical partner.
We have great faith in this partnership, which is based on
a key strategic decision. We are determined to garner impressive
results together.
MARCO MELANDRI: "I look forward to
start a new season. I like a lot my new bike, in particular
the rolling chassis. I've got faith in the potential of the
Honda-Bridgestone package. We've got everything we need to
compete at the top end of the championship. I feel well supported
by all our partners. I'm very confident in our potential.
I want to have fun and get my revenge"
TONI ELIAS: "I'm very confident, for
me it was very important to keep on working with the same
team, the same chief mechanic and all the guys. There is still
a lot of work to do but I'm very confident. The win in Portugal
gave me a major boost. My goal is to feel that amazing sensation
again and to do battle with the main players every Sunday".
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