Team Gresini has confirmed that it will line up for the 2010 Moto2 World Championship with Spanish rider Toni Elias, to be joined by Russian rookie Vladimir Ivanov on a pair of Moriwaki prototypes.

Elias continues a relationship with Team Gresini that has already brought success in MotoGP in 2006, 2007 and 2009, including a victory and three podiums (35 podiums on the Road Racing World Championship with 10 wins), while Ivanov makes his debut on the world stage having won the Russian Supersport title in 2003 and 2004 and made an impression in the Italian Supersport series in 2009 and the German equivalent in 2006 (two podiums), 2007 (three wins) and 2008 (four wins and second place overall).

The goal for Toni Elias and Fausto Gresini is to fight for the world title.

“I am very pleased to continue racing with Team Gresini because it is like a family to me,” Elias explained. “Alongside Moriwaki we are beginning a new adventure in Moto2. We are extremely confident about the project and we will all work with great determination to get the maximum results possible.”

For Vladimir Ivanov, who turns 26 on 25 January, it is the opportunity of a lifetime.

“It is a great moment for me to be joining Team Gresini’s Moto2 project because it is one of the most prestigious teams in the World Championship. I have lots of experience on a Supersport bike and actually rode one last year in the Italian Championship so I am sure that will help me go fast on the Moto2,” said Ivanov. “I am very excited to be riding alongside such an experience rider as Toni Elias and I can’t wait to get out on track. Hopefully I can compete for some good results.”

The pair will be on board Moriwaki MD 600 machines in the first year of Moto2 racing since it replaced the 250cc class.

“First of all I would like to thank Team GRESINI for choosing the MORIWAKI MD600 as their bike for the competitive Moto2 class,” explained Midori Moriwaki. “It is a very important collaboration for Moriwaki because Team Gresini has great pedigreein the World Championship and also great experience. We are pleased and excited to be joining them as chassis constructors and we hope our collaboration can bring something extra to the Moto2 class and help attract lots of fans to this new series.”

Gresini, a former racer himself, looks forward to running the Moto2 team on top of his MotoGP effort with Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli.

“The Moto2 project is very interesting for our team and we are looking forward to working closely with MORIWAKI,” said Gresini. “I am really pleased to be going into such a new project with an experienced rider in Toni Elias and a rookie in Vladimir Ivanov. Having Toni as our lead rider is a source of great motivation for everybody and his experience and professionalism will no doubt rub off on Vladimir and help him.

“Elias is a rider we know well and we have enjoyed great moments with him – he is determined, hard-working and professional and he is prepared to work on development with us. He has everything in place to be competitive at every race and there is no reason why the title should not be his target.

“For Vladimir Ivanov this is a completely new challenge and he is already feeding off the enthusiasm this team has transmitted to riders over the years. I am sure he is in the right place to enjoy good results. He has lots of experience in Supersport and that should help him adapt easily to Moto2.”