De Angelis renews with Gresini for 2009

The latest piece of the 2009 MotoGP lineup puzzle has fallen into place, with Alex de Angelis having signed for a second season with Fausto Gresini´s Honda satellite team.

The San Marino-born rider is one of a batch of rookies plying their trade in the premier class this season, having moved up from the 250cc class. In spite of some crashes over the course of his maiden season, some impressive race results –such as a career best fourth place at Mugello and Sachsenring- and an impressive attitude to the adaptation process have convinced Gresini to retain his services.

De Angelis´ Team Manager believes that the alleviation of pressure on the newcomer will be able to keep him calm for the final races of the year, in which he is targeting further improvement.

`Our objective is to finish off the season in the best way possible and I'm sure Alex will now be able to approach this target in a more relaxed and stress-free manner after reaching an agreement to stay with our team for 2009,´ says Gresini.

This latest instance of a rider putting pen to paper follows in the footsteps of a series of names confirming their stay with their current teams, with Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards, James Toseland and the Suzuki duo of Loris Capriossi & Chris Vermeulen having renewed their contracts over the course of the season.