The Effenbert-Liberty Racing Team officially presented its 2012 team at the Italian ski resort town of Sestriere, in Piedmont, over the weekend. The whole team attended this special event to celebrate the upcoming season including SBK riders Sylvain Guintoli, Jakub Smrz and Maxime Berger as well as the new Superstock duo of Brett McCormick and Federico Sandi.
"I'm very satisfied with the enthusiastic cooperation of our team", said Fabio Alberti, the team manager of Effenbert Liberty, "this opportunity was enough to show the motivation of the team and the riders, who are going to have our full support". The optimism of the team manager reflected the overall attitude of team owner Mario Bertuccio, who declared during his speech on Saturday's night meet and greet: "We are here to win the championship! I can see already now that there's a great possibility to make this dream come true".
In the heart of the snow-covered town the team performed a mock grid procedure with the assistance of local police. Sylvain Guintoli, dressed in his leathers, was surrounded by the whole team and many curious fans and passers-by. When the sun went down, the team, sponsors and other special guests, including Giancarlo Falappa and Ernesto Marinelli of Ducati, gathered for dinner and the evening's entertainment.
"Everything's been great so far. This is my second year in world superbikes with even more experience and resources and it comes without saying that I'm going to do my best", commented Maxime Berger, the youngest rider of the team. Also Brett McCormick, who has expressed his overall satisfaction with the team, declared the event a success: "I got to do the test last October and the team is a great bunch of guys. Good chemistry, good people, I'm super satisfied. It's hard to be successful if you don't surround yourself with good people. It's hard to say what I expect coming in because it's my first full year over here, but I think I'm definitely capable of winning races and I've heard really good things about the new bike".
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The Effenbert Liberty Racing Team has decided to double up in the Superstock 1000 category with the announcement that Italian Federico Sandi will join Canadian Brett McCormick in the two-rider team.
It took one of last year's instant successes, Eugene Laverty, no time at all to prove he was a real asset to the SBK grid, and he ended up fourth in the overall rankings with Yamaha. After the Japanese manufacturer decided to opt out for 2012, Laverty eventually landed a plum ride, one of the best available, with the official Aprilia Racing Team (photo Laverty in new leathers).
The Trasimeno Team has opted to continue its policy of bringing up youngsters within its ranks by signing the talented Spanish rider Nacho Calero Perez for its European Superstock 600 Championship attack.
For John 'Hopper' Hopkins 2012 should be the year he embarks on his real SBK career even though he cannot be thought of as a rookie, having been a Stiggy Honda rider back in 2009.
It seems like no time at all since Marco Melandri put pen to paper to agree to ride for the factory BMW team, but soon he will be lining up to race against the best in the world again in what is arguably the biggest team in the paddock. BMW recently sent out a release featuring an interview with Melandri, a condensed version of which follows here.
Team Pedercini's Leandro Mercado will now not take part in the opening round of the 2012 Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, after the 19 year-old Superbike debutant broke the radius bone in his right arm in a crash on his supermoto bike during a training session last week in Argentina.
Telecom Italia and Ducati have extended their partnership to the Superbike World Championship for the 2012 season as the sponsorship agreement between the two companies in MotoGP is extended to the championship-winning Althea Racing Team.
The Barni Racing Ducati team, runner-up last year with Danilo Petrucci, has confirmed that Eddi La Marra will line up alongside Lorenzo Savadori in the 2012 edition of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. The 22-year-old from the outskirts of Rome has already raced with the Lombardy-based squad during the Winter Trophy held in December at Vallelunga on a 1098R (photo).
The Effenbert Liberty Racing has chosen Sestriere to officially present the team for the 2012 SBK season, which kicks off at Phillip Island on the last Sunday of the month of February. This splendid winter resort, which boasts the distinction of being the Italian town at the highest altitude will, on February 4th and 5th , provide the stage for an event presenting three top SBK protagonists: Maxime Berger, Sylvain Guintoli and Jakub Smrž, their official bikes and, of course, the team management.
The BMW Motorrad Italia GoldBet SBK Team was presented at the Autodromo di Monza yesterday. The Italian Team will compete in the FIM Superbike World Championship with riders Ayrton Badovini and Michel Fabrizio, and in the FIM Superstock Cup with Sylvian Barrier and new team member Lorenzo Baroni. The occasion also provided an opportunity to present to the press the new title sponsor: GoldBet.
Althea Racing today took the opportunity to officially present its 2012 World Superbike outfit to sponsors and members of the press at the team's headquarters in Civita Castellana. Later this month the 2011 World SBK Champions will be back in action at the opening round of the 2012 World SBK Championship, but before embarking on what will be an inevitably challenging journey, team manager Genesio Bevilacqua, riders Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano and team members were all on hand to officially launch the season and unveil the new livery of the Ducati 1198 machines.
Englishman Sam Lowes had a strong full-time introduction to the FIM Supersport World Championship in 2011 and despite not quite winning a race he is thought of as a potential champion in 2012 by many observers. Lowes, now 21-years-old, scored the first of six podiums in 12 races at Phillip Island last year. In fact, he was within a whisker of winning the race overall. So the obvious questions are how has his outlook changed after his first full year and what is possible on his Bogdanka PTR Honda this season?