His new Effenbert Liberty Racing Team provided an interview with Fabio, a slightly shortened version of which follows here.
Why this change from LCR Honda in MotoGP to the Effenbert Liberty Racing Team in WSBK?
“We all love challenges, new and ambitious projects, those for which you cannot sleep at night. LCR Honda with Lucio has been a beautiful chapter of my professional life, LCR is at the top of the world and working alongside Lucio has really been an honour, a special teacher as well as a special person. But I accepted this challenge, a new prestigious position in a team where there’s space for operating, which has the support of the motorbike brand that we all adore for its genius, Ducati, and who doesn’t want to present itself on the forefront of international motorsport as a rookie team anymore, but as a reality that wants to win as well as participate. This project that Mario Bertuccio illustrated rang a bell in me and I accepted the challenge.”
Why this team expansion, at a time in which the tendency is rather to withdraw, or at least reduce, investment?
“Our team is well supported financially by the owner, the “Liberty CZ Group” holding company, which just a few weeks ago changed its legal form becoming a joint-stock company, and the owner has decided, despite the period of crisis and thanks to new regulations developed by the organizers of the World Superbike Championship and by the FIM, to keep the 2011 budget and also the investment in promotion of their brands. Therefore, the intention was to line up with four bikes in the Superbike World Championship. Unfortunately I did not close with a top rider who I wanted to take with me from MotoGP, but this is a chapter to be re-opened next year. For this year the new entry concerns a young rider, Maxime Berger, because we believe in young people.”
What are you expecting from the next coming season, what are your goals?
“The only objective for those who race, is to win, but as we all know, to win is very difficult. We have three very good riders, Guintoli finished the season in great form, Smrz is a very experienced rider who has suffered in the season finale, but I believe that he will be at his best, and Berger is our young promise to whom we want to dedicate a lot of attention and focus for the years to come. So, these are our goals – start to scout new talents, make an academy if possible, because only training creates a fertile breeding ground for young riders and is exactly what Spain is experiencing. In addition, the team will have an appendix in Superstock, which will be managed by a man of experience in Natale Egi, and that with the young McCormick as a rider and with ?the rookie’ Ducati 1199 Panigale, on paper, seems it is going to give a hard time to the competition… Finally, our team will try to organize events that help give even more visibility to the Superbike championship in the world. My commitment will go in these directions.”
Source: http://www.zimbio.com/MotoGP/articles/iQ_Ubx_0JIl/Fabio+Alberti+joins+Effenbert+Liberty+new
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