We conducted an exclusive interview with the team Gresini owner as she prepares to present the team with the two Marquez brothers on Saturday 20 January at the Cocoricò disco in Riccione. Nadia Padovani has been running the company since the death of her husband, Fausto Gresini, in early 2021, and this year she will steer a team that has enormous potential, thanks to both her own hard work and that of the group around her.

Before looking ahead to 2024, how would you sum up 2023?

«I can say that it went as I’d hoped in the end. Perhaps I expected a little more from Fabio (Di Giannantonio) already early on. We worked hard, we as a team and he as a rider, and so it was very satisfying to achieve these results. As for Alex, he had a little bad luck and deserved more. I’m very happy because we won Sprint races and scored podiums and that’s a great result».

First impressions of Marc Marquez

It was your first year with Alex Marquez, how did you find him?

«Fantastic, really incredible. Nice, smart, up for a joke. But also sweet and sensitive. When he reached the podium in Malaysia and I wasn’t there, he thanked me live on TV. I adore him. There’s a wonderful connection».

And what first impression has Marc made?

«I really liked him right away, he’s very determined, very sure of himself. I know Alex and they are very close as brothers. All brothers are different, but I know the parents, who are wonderful people, and I know Alex, who’s fantastic. I don’t think Marc is the black sheep as some put it, far from it».

And you’ve done dad Julià Marquez a favour, as he can now follow both sons from the same garage.

«Yes, we did it for him (she laughs). We’d see him running from one garage to another, out of breath, and so we said: “Let’s get the family together, that way you’ll be more relaxed, so to speak, and won’t have to run backwards and forwards”. We joked about this».

The full interview will be published in an upcoming issue of Motosprint.