Today at Miller Motorsports Park (MMP) a press conference was held confirming the story that was broken Wednesday on Roadracingworld.com, that veteran American racer Jason Pridmore would replace young Italian Luca Morelli on the Alto Evolution Honda team for the remainder of the 2008 Superbike World Championship, starting with this weekend’s races at MMP. During the press conference, Alto Evolution Honda General & Technical Manager Marco Nicotari told the media that his team needed a rider with more experience than Morelli in order to develop their 2008 CBR1000RR (and its so-far problematic engine electronics) and to help the team’s other rider Shuhei Aoyama adapt to Superbikes after a career racing two-stroke Grand Prix machines. “We think we have found the perfect person and the perfect rider we need to go on further in the Championship,” said Nicotari, who then added that Pridmore’s personality as much as his racing qualifications earned him the ride. “As everyone knows a rider is not only a right hand on the gas. He is a person. It was 50% the rider, and 50% the person.” “First and foremost, I have to thank Murph. He basically made a dream of mine come true,” said Pridmore, referring to Hardcard Holdings’ Michael “Murph” Murphy, who started working with Pridmore earlier in 2008 and found the unique opportunity with Alto Evolution Honda while attending the World Superbike event at Monza. Pridmore went on to say he didn’t really want to retire when he did at the end of the 2006 AMA season, but he “saw the writing on the wall, and I didn’t think there was anything going to be available for me in America.” Pridmore, who co-rode to the FIM Endurance World Championship in 2003 and won the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship in 2002 and the AMA 750cc Supersport Championship in 1997, said he would continue to race in the 2008 FIM Endurance World Championship but he would not ride in any more AMA events this season. More, from a press release issued by Alto Evolution Honda: Thursday May 29th, 2008 TOOELE UTAH Alto Evolution Honda Superbike would like to communicate to the world motorcycle media that from the USA Round up to the end of the season a new rider will take part of the Superbike World Championship together with Shuhei Aoyama. This decision was taken after the five first rounds of the Championship because the Team needed a more experienced rider in order to help Aoyama in his process of adapting his riding style to Superbike. Unfortunately, Luca Morelli was too young to make this role, apart from his riding skills and fast style, and this was the main reason that made both him and Alto Evolution agreed on breaking their racing agreement. This choice points to the place where the World Superbike is racing this week, and more specifically to the AMA and one of its most important riders, the Californian Jason Pridmore. The idea of bringing Pridmore to Team Alto Evolution happened during the Monza Round of the World Superbike Championship, when his manager, Michael Murphy, was introduced to the Team Manager, the Eng. Marco Nicotari. It was around 15 days from that informal meeting up to the formal agreement, and the entire Team is really excited about having a rider as talented as Pridmore to help in the development of the new CBR-1000RR. Pridmore has been riding at Miller Motorsports Park since 2006, when he took part in both AMA Superbike and Superstock races and during the past three years he has been coming here with his riding school, the STAR Motorcycle School. He became an AMA rider in 1992; in 1998 he took part in the American round of the World Supersport Championship in Laguna Seca and finished in 3rd place. In addition, in 2002 he won the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship and in 2003 the World Endurance Championship. Confirming the rumours that came about in the paddock yesterday afternoon, Pridmore had been to the Alto Evolution garage and met the Team. Everybody was excited about his presence, and his technicians, crew chief and the Team Manager could answer some questions about the bike and we could learn from him a bit about the circuit and his expectations: “Being in the World Superbike is like a dream come true; I am feeling remotivated and excited to be here.” After his visit in our garage, the Eng. Marco Nicotari has declared that “We are very happy about having Jason with us and I am sure that he can help us to reach the goals we set for this season.” The Team has been working hard since the Monza round in order to solve all technical issues with the electronics and get the bikes ready for these races in the USA. Miller Motortsports Park is a beautiful place and having the AMA championship and World Superbike together has certainly brought more emotion and colour to the weekend. We all hope for extremely fast and competitive sunny days among the Utah mountains. More, from a press release issued by Hardcard Holdings: Former AMA Champion Jason Pridmore making a full time return to Superbike racing Tooele, UT (May 29, 2008)- Jason Pridmore has signed with the Alto Evolution Honda World Superbike team. Pridmore will be contesting the remainder of the World Superbike Championship beginning with the Miller Motorsports round this weekend near Salt Lake City, Utah. After retiring from full time racing at the end of the 2006 season and sitting out the 2007 season, Pridmore realized he wasn’t finished with his roadracing career. Prior to the 2008 season, Pridmore announced he was returning to competition in the World Endurance Championship. “When I stopped roadracing, I realized I wasn’t really finished. I missed the competition and I don’t feel 38. I’m riding better and training harder than I was five years ago,” states the two-time AMA Champion. “In talking with Hardcard’s Murph (Michael Murphy) about opportunities in the World Superbike paddock for some of the younger American riders, I told him to keep me in mind if there was a team that needed an experienced rider for a wildcard ride. I was surprised when he actually called and asked if I could do the whole season.” “The Alto Evolution team is the perfect opportunity for Jason,” says Hardcard’s Murph (Michael Murphy). “The team is well organized and well equipped. Jason is hungry to compete and do well at the world level, and the team needs someone with his proven ability to achieve results. Jason’s development experience will also help the team and it’s rookie superbike rider Shuhei Ayoma.”