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Until a few years ago, he was partying at the Cocoricò club in Riccione but, this time, the occasion was really special: the presentation of the team he manages. This was a special event for Michele Masini, who inaugurated the new Gresini project on Saturday evening with Alex and Marc Marquez.
The manager from Rome was very excited and, at the same time, curious to see how the Spanish brothers will behave in view of the upcoming season in the MotoGP World Championship.
“It’s great to see Marc and Alex with us,” Masini said. “I think this was a great presentation, and it bodes well for the Malaysia tests. 2023 was a long and challenging year, aided by the fact, among other things, of the introduction of the sprint. But we’re ready for the first tests in Malaysia. We’ll have to adapt to the GP23, considering the short time available for the first round in Qatar.”
Michele, what’s Marc bringing to Gresini and Gresini to Marc?
“Marcvbrings added familiarity to Gresini, because having two brothers like them on the team is enviable. All this will help us get to know them better and face the new dynamics in 2024. We, on the other hand, will be able to give Marc peace of mind and serenity. I definitely won’t be the one to put pressure on him. He wants to have fun again and, a rider who has fun, becomes fast. In the end, this is the goal with our Ducati.”
Marc’s smile in Valencia is probably worth a thousand words ...
“It says a lot, because his was a difficult choice and, until the time you try the new bike, you still have some doubt about the choice you made. I think that smile, after trying the Ducati, took Marc’s doubts away.”
There’s a lot of talk about managing Marc in relation to the official team. How do you manage someone like him?
“I’ve asked myself this question recently, and I’ve come to the conclusion that we won’t have to do anything different from what we’ve done until now. Exactly like what happened with Enea. Even with Marc, we don’t have to change anything in our method, but we’ll have to take advantage of the experience that Marc is bringing for the new year.”
Is Marc with Gresini the opportunity of a lifetime?
“Yes, this is a unique and extraordinary opportunity, which we immediately believed in. With our ‘good ignorance’, we believed it to the end, without being intrusive. We believed in his arrival so much that, in the end, everything went in the right direction.”
What would Fausto say from up there?
“Marc’s arrival was a dream in our dream. I don’t know if he’d be surprised to see Marc with these colors, considering that our work group is always the same. I'm sure he’ll be proud.”
