Gresini was born in Imola on 23 January 1961. He began racing at the age of seventeen in 1978, starting on a Minarelli 50 in Italian domestic competition. In 1983 he joined the Grand Prix motorcycle racing circuit with the MBA team, entering the international stage of the sport at a time when the 125cc class was highly competitive.
Gresini's most successful riding years came aboard Garelli factory machinery. He won the 125cc World Championship in 1985 and again in 1987, and was runner-up in 1986, all three seasons with Garelli. He continued competing into the early 1990s, finishing as vice-champion in the 125cc class in both 1991 and 1992 while riding for Honda.
Over the course of his Grand Prix career, Gresini started 132 races, recording 21 victories, 15 second places, and 11 third places. He shares with Angel Nieto the record of 11 consecutive victories in the 125cc class, a streak that bridged the 1986 and 1987 seasons. He also holds the outright record for the most 125cc victories in a single season: ten in 1987. In that remarkable year he crashed only in the final race but won every other 125cc Grand Prix on the calendar. He retired from riding in 1994.
After retiring as a rider, Gresini founded Gresini Racing in 1997 alongside partner Fabrizio Cecchini, who served as technical director. He remained the team's principal from founding until his death.
Under his leadership the team won three Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championships: Daijiro Kato in the 2001 250cc World Championship, Toni Elias in the 2010 Moto2 World Championship, and Jorge Martin in the 2018 Moto3 World Championship. The team also claimed the inaugural MotoE World Cup in 2019 with rider Matteo Ferrari.
Gresini's tenure as team principal was marked by two devastating losses. On 6 April 2003, Daijiro Kato crashed during the Japanese Grand Prix and died in hospital two weeks later. On 23 October 2011, Marco Simoncelli died shortly after an accident at the Malaysian Grand Prix; Hiroshi Aoyama was the team's other rider at that race.
On 27 December 2020, Gresini was hospitalised at the Ospedale Maggiore in Bologna after contracting COVID-19 during the pandemic. His condition appeared to improve initially, but on 18 February 2021 he deteriorated sharply with a serious lung infection. He died on 23 February 2021 at the age of sixty, exactly one month after his birthday. His death prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the world of motorcycle racing.
Gresini's record of eleven consecutive 125cc victories ties the all-time benchmark set by Angel Nieto, and his tally of ten wins in a single season remains unmatched in the class. As a team manager he delivered championship titles across four different Grand Prix class categories — 250cc, Moto2, Moto3, and MotoE — establishing Gresini Racing as one of the most consistently competitive independent outfits in the paddock. The team continued to operate under his name in MotoGP following his death, a testament to the institution he created.
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