After the Marquez brothers, is it Alonso Lopez's turn? Gresini revives talent in Moto2 as well

In recent years, the Gresini team has established itself as a solid, successful force, capable of achieving prestigious milestones in MotoGP.

In some cases—see brothers Marc and Alex Marquez, to name two—it has launched or relaunched their career prospects. Now it aims to do the same in Moto2 with Alonso Lopez, a talent who lost his way a bit in recent seasons, the surprising pole-sitter of the Aragon Grand Prix aboard the KALEX fielded by the Italjet Gresini team.

Alonso Lopez has never lacked talent, speed, or throttle, but as sometimes happens, that isn’t always enough. To stand out in modern motorcycle racing, you need to be a complete package. Consistent, flawless, and able to keep your concentration high at all times—especially in a hard-fought, competitive class like Moto2, with 20 riders covered by one second. A rival (as a teammate) to Fermin Aldeguer in the 2021 Moto2 European Championship, and even in the running for 2022 Moto2 Rookie of the Year alongside Pedro Acosta, the Madrid-born rider had only made a mark on sporadic occasions in recent years.

This is evidenced by the fact that the Aragon pole is his first since Assen 2023. Essentially a lifetime ago. In between, seasons below expectations, with his last win coming with Speed Up at Lusail in 2024—the first race of the Pirelli era. Moving to the Gresini team was an inevitable step for Lopez to revive his stock, returning to a KALEX he had only briefly sampled as a substitute in the past (in 2021 at the Sachsenring with the Pons team), starting from scratch to avoid wasting what might be his last career opportunity.

The first half of his stint with the Faenza-based squad saw him smooth out certain limitations, consistently finish inside the top 10 before a right-hand injury at Brno forced him to miss the following GPs at Assen and Silverstone. He responded to that abrupt halt in the best possible way after the break: sixth at Silverstone, pole-sitter at Alcañiz. Is the Gresini cure working for him too?