Fausto Gresini regains consciousness in COVID-19 battle

The veteran team boss and 125cc world champion was taken ill just before the Christmas break when he tested positive for the virus.

Gresini was hospitalised on 27 December in Imola as his condition started to worsen, with continued deterioration in his health forcing him to be transferred to a specialist COVID care ward in a hospital in Bologna. Upon admittance he was placed into a medically-induced coma, from which he was gradually re-awakened last week.

In the latest update issued by his team, the Italian is showing signs of progress in his recovery. Gresini remains on mechanical ventilation and under some sedation, however.

The statement read: “Comforting news from the intensive care unit of the Maggiore Carlo Alberto Pizzardi hospital in Bologna. Fausto Gresini is conscious and in stable condition, even if the situation remains serious overall.”

Dr Nicola Cilloni added: “Fausto Gresini's clinical conditions are still serious, but more stable. It is still necessary to maintain mechanical ventilation to ensure good blood oxygenation.

“However, the clinical stability allowed to moderate the sedation and keep him conscious. He is a fighter and very collaborative and this helps clinicians a lot in managing the disease. Apart from the breath, all other organs are functional.”

Gresini is one of a number of high-profile MotoGP names to have caught the virus in the past year, though he's been the one most seriously affected by it. New Pramac MotoGP rider and former KTM Moto2 runner Jorge Martin was the first high-profile name to catch the virus last year, forcing him to miss the Misano double-header.

Nine-time grand prix world champion Valentino Rossi was absent from the Aragon races after he tested positive for the virus at home in Italy, while Tech3’s Iker Lecuona had to miss the final three rounds because of COVID-19.

Gresini will remain Aprilia’s factory entrant in MotoGP in 2021, but announced late last year it would return to being an independent team from 2022, as Aprilia enters as a standalone works squad.