'Fighter' Fausto Gresini 'still serious, but more stable'

'Comforting news' emerged over the weekend from the Gresini MotoGP team, during the latest update on the condition of team owner Fausto Gresini.

Although the Italian remains in the intensive care unit of the Maggiore Carlo Alberto Pizzardi hospital in Bologna, where he requires a mechanical ventilator to battle a lack of blood oxygenation due to Covid-19, Gresini's condition is now described as 'still serious, but more stable' allowing the level of sedation to be moderated to keep him conscious.

"Fausto Gresini's clinical conditions are still serious, but more stable," explained Dr Nicola Cilloni.

"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[ing], all other organs are functional”.

Following a Covid-19 diagnosis and self-isolation at home, Gresini required admission to hospital in Imola on December 27 before being moved to a specialist Covid ward in Bologna on December 30.

There, the 59-year-old was placed in a pharmacological coma due to 'very low blood oxygen saturation levels' but on January 1, 'in light of stable and improving general conditions', doctors began a 'slow awakening process'.

It was hoped that independent lung ventilation would soon follow, but for now, Gresini - who runs teams in all three grand prix classes, plus MotoE - continues to use mechanical ventilation.