
On August 7, 2023, GRT Yamaha team founder and sporting director Mirko Giansanti died after battling a long and serious illness. He was 46 years old.
Prior to founding the Giansanti Racing Team (GRT) Yamaha in World SuperSport, which currently fields riders as the GYTR GRT Yamaha World Superbike team in both WSBK and WSSP, he was a successful racer.
Giansanti’s debut race was the 1996 125cc Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, where he appeared as a wild card. There, he was impressive enough to earn three more rounds of racing that season—and even picked up a solid two points although he didn’t race for the full season.