Fausto Gresini, eponymous manager of the Gresini Racing MotoGP team, is in hospital after deteriorating in health in the wake of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

The Italian manager, who has helmed Gresini Racing since it entered the premier class in 1997 as an independent team, was diagnosed with the coronavirus shortly before Christmas.

However, on 27 December he was admitted to Santa Maria della Scaletta hospital in Imola, before being transferred to a specialist COVID-19 ward Maggiore Carlo Alberto Pizzardi hospital in Bologna.

A short statement from the team press office adds his condition is being monitored closely.

“Following the COVID-19 positivity discovered shortly before the Christmas break, Fausto Gresini – after an initial isolation period at home – was hospitalised on 27 December at the Santa Maria della Scaletta hospital in Imola.

“The Gresini Racing team principal was transported today to the Maggiore Carlo Alberto Pizzardi hospital in Bologna, in a more specialised ward for COVID-19 care.