The strongest 125cc team of all time consisted of Fausto Gresini and Loris Capirossi, who were “invented” by Francesco and Paolo Pileri. It was 1990 when Francesco put a very young Capirex next to Fausto.
It was a world championship similar to the one we saw in MotoGP last year: it seemed like nobody wanted to win it when the favorite Gresini, who had been world champion in 1985 and 1987, broke an ankle in his foot, saying goodbye to his Dream of fame.
Francesco, a visionary manager, tells us all about those times …
“In 1990 after this incident, Fausto was lost. Not only did he help us, he used his whole arm to help Loris win the World Cup. In 1991, however, he wanted to fight with Loris. We were in Donington and this season Fausto won two Grand Prix and was on the podium a total of nine times. With all the love I have for you, I said to him: Let Capirossi go, don’t try to run after him, just don’t do it, don’t hurt yourself. Loris is 17 years old, he feels like a champion … I told him on Saturday after qualifying and on Sunday he fell. I was so disappointed “.
The relationship between the two was definitely excellent. Rivals on the track, friends in the pits. The friendship and professional relationship between Francesco Pileri and Fausto Gresini did not end when he retired.
“When he stopped running I took him on to my team in 1996 as the coach of Barros. and when I had “my problems” he teamed up with Honda Brazil and his adventure as a team manager started from there. It was 1997 “.