On Thursday, a minute of silence was held in memory of Mirko Giansanti in the Red Bull Ring paddock. Ex-125cc rider in the late 90s and early 2000s, the Italian then hung up his leathers to become one of the founders and sporting director of the GRT Yamaha Superbike team, currently GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team. He passed away at the much too young age of 46 on August 7, 2023 following a long illness.
Our thoughts are obviously with his family but we did not know him and, this weekend, we are also particularly moved by the disappearance ofAdrien Lesaulnier.
The surname is undoubtedly much less known, except among French journalists for whom its presence in the Grand Prix paddock was always the guarantee of a warm welcome accompanied by a kind smile and relevant explanations.
Adrien worked with passion for around fifteen years as a Moto2 mechanic alongside Dominique Aegerter, Iker Lecuona, Marco Ramirez and more recently Sean Dylan Kelly in the American Racing Moto2 team, before opening his own garage in 2021 near Caen.
Adrien lost his life on Wednesday August 16 at the age of 37 in a motorcycle accident, probably struck by a van, although the circumstances have not yet been very well established.
We can't really find the words to express our sadness but all our affection and support goes to his young wife, and Adrien's eternal smile will not fail to be present every time we enter the American Racing box ...even if it will unfortunately now be nothing more than a very painful memory.
