Michel Fabrizio is BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team’s new rider. Fabrizio will join Ayrton Badovini in an all-Italian team in the 2012 World Superbike Championship. Michel Fabrizio will take part in the 2012 World Superbike Championship on board the BMW Motorrad Team Italy S 1000 RR Superbike. Michel Fabrizio was born in Frascati, near Rome, on September 17, 1984.He is 27 years old and married with two children. Fabrizio has significant international experience from taking part in different classes of the World Championship namely Superstock, Supersport and Superbike. Besides his passion for riding bikes, which he has done since he was a boy, he is an avid golfer. Thanks to his international experience he knows all the circuits on the World Championship calendar. During his career he has ridden several multi-cylinder motorbikes, and also has worked with members of the team in which he ran in 2009. His international racing career began in 2002 with his first season in MotoGP on the Gilera 125. The following year, riding a Suzuki GSX-R 1000, saw his debut on a 4-stroke engine and, in his first year, won the Superstock Championship. In 2005, riding a Honda, he participated in the World Supersport Championship the following year made his debut in the World Superbike Championship. “In 2007, he rode for Honda in the World Superbike and also had the opportunity to ride for the same marque in MotoGP.”In 2009, with the Ducati Xerox Team, Michel took his first victory and finished the season in third place. In 2010, with 1 win, 1 second and 4 third places he earned 195 points and was 8th in the standings at the end of the season.”This year, with the Team Alstare Suzuki World SBK he won 152 points and finished 12th in the season classification, just two places behind Ayrton Badovini. Andrea Buzzoni, Director of BMW Motorrad Italy and Project Director of BMW Motorrad Italia Superbike Team, on the announcement of the new rider said: “We are delighted to have Michael in our team for 2012 which will show a significant performance jump, thanks to more planning than was possible for the 2011 season. He is a talented rider who has not yet had the results that he deserves. I am confident that the technical and personnel support will ensure that Michel can show his potential . With the appointment of Michael and the confirmation of Ayrton’s place, it will be a good all-Italian team of riders and engineers combined with the extraordinary BMW technology. ” Michel Fabrizio said: “I am very pleased with the signing of this contract and I hope to repay the trust that the team has shown in me. I am happy to be working again with people that were part of my team for three years and that will provide a stable environment that will help me do well. I am very motivated and ready to play my part next season because I know that the project is ambitious and the team is good. “