The Effenbert Liberty Racing Team, presenting itself at the 2nd year of its participation at the World Superbike Championship and at the 1st in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup, strenghtens the collective inserting, at the management of the SBK racing team, Fabio Alberti, in the position of Team Manager. Alberti, 44 years, from Florence, made his debut in the world of motorcycle racing in 1995, working with the Team Chesterfield Aprilia in the 250cc Championship, at the times in which Max Biaggi was the Team rider. Then, in 1999, the beginning of a long and fertile synergy with Lucio Cecchinello, the owner of the LCR, taking on , in the organization itself and over the years, an increasingly relevant position, cooperating closer and closer with LCR Honda in the MotoGP adventure and with Lucio, soon becoming a well known and appreciated character in the MotoGP world. His signing in the team has been strongly desired by the team owner and CEO of the Liberty Group, Dr. Mario Bertuccio, who considers him important in order to be able to face at best the programs of development of the racing team, that are planned in the coming seasons. Here is a brief interview with the new Effenbert Liberty Racing Team Manager : 1 – Why this change from the LCR Honda Team 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 honor, 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 motorbyke 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 me, rang a bell in me and I accepted the challenge.” 2 Why this team expansion, at a time in which the tendency is rather to withdraw ,or at least reduce , the 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 to line up 4 bikes in the World Superbike 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-open next year. For this year the new entry concerns a young rider, Maxime Berger, because we believe in young people”. 3 What are you expecting from the next coming season, what are your goals? “The only objective for those who race, is to 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, Smrž is a very experienced rider who has suffered in the season finale, but I beleive that he will be at his best, and Berger is our young promise to whom we want to dedicate a lot of attention and on which we focus for the years to come. So, these are our goals, start to scout new talents, make Academy if possible, because only the 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 Super Stock, which will be managed by a man of experience as 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. The heart of the team is composed by the Technical chiefs, Nicola Manna, Riccardo Venturi Bozza and Filippo Burgatti, and the Race engineers, Luca Ferraccioli, Alberto Giribuola and Flavio Prodolliet. 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”.