Team Effenbert Liberty Racing, higher and higher! Huge enthusiasm in Sestriere on the occasion of a SBK and Superstock team launch. Held in Sestriere, on the top of the Piemonte Mountains, Effenbert Liberty Racing Team has officially presented the team for the 2012 championship. The whole team attended this special event to celebrate the upcoming season including SBK protagonists Sylvain Guintoli, Jakub Smrz and Maxime Berger as well as the new Superstock duo comprising 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 the team owner and the CEO Mario Bertuccio, who bravely 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.” The atmosphere was outstanding. The team performed a mock grid procedure with the assistance of local police in the heart of the city covered in snow. Sylvain Guintoli, dressed up in his leather suit, 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, gathered for a pompous dinner and a special program that, for some, didn’t end until 6 in the morning. Ernesto Marinelli, the Ducati Superbike project manager, shared his positive view and disclosed some main features of the brand new Ducati Panigale: “I’m very happy to see that the team is growing. Now, they have 2 riders in Superstock and it’s an important class for us because it’s more close to the production motorcycle. On one hand, there are many differences between the new Ducati and the old one, on the other hand there are very few. Many from the technological point of view, we installed in this new bike all the highest technology that we’ve learnt from racing over the past 5 year. The similarities? It’s still a Ducati. We wanted to keep the familiar feeling, the characteristics and the feedback that the bike gives to the rider, of course with the emphasis on performance, lightness and beauty.” The program continued on Sunday to round up a successful weekend and to say goodbye, although not for a long time, since the team will meet soon, this time in much warmer Australia. “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 SBK protagonist of the team. Also Brett McCormick, who’s 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.” Everyone was leaving with a beaming smile on their face. “I would like to thank everybody, especially Barbara Delmastro Meoni and everybody else who made this event so special. The atmosphere was amazing,” concluded Fabio Alberti.