PIETRI RETURNS TO AMA PRO SUPERBIKE WITH TEAM VENEZUELA AND TEAM HAMMER CONTRACT SERVICES Following two seasons competing in the Moto2 World Championship, Robertino Pietri will make his AMA Pro Road Racing return in 2012, contesting the AMA Pro Superbike Championship while also making five wild card MotoGP appearances throughout the year. The second-generation racer will pilot the #3 Team Venezuela GSX-R1000, which will be prepared and fielded by Team Hammer Contract Services. The charismatic Venezuelan is eying his double-duty 2012 campaign as an opportunity to best prepare him for a full-time 1000cc future in 2013 and beyond. “First of all, I would like to thank Team Hammer for having me back. We had great times in the past. I’m sure we will have an even better one this time,” said Pietri. “The Team Venezuela project has been a wish of mine and I’m very proud of what we have put together. After a few years on the 600cc machine, I’m very exited about riding a big bike again and it can’t be any better than working with Team Hammer. For me, it is the most professional team I’ve ever ridden for. That is the reason I’m sure we will achieve the results we want and that is, of course, to be challenging at the front.” After three seasons aboard middleweight machinery (2009 in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike and 2010 and 2011 in Moto2), Pietri will reacclimatize himself with the 200+horsepower world of literbike racing in ’12, taking full advantage of the 1000cc seat time he’ll receive in AMA Superbike on his GSX-R1000 and MotoGP aboard the Avintia Racing FTR Kawasaki CRT racebike he recently tested at Sepang, Malaysia. The 26-year-old considers AMA Pro Superbike as the ideal battleground to further hone his skills, as he boasts considerable experience on the racetracks and respects the high level of competition by which he’ll be tested. Pietri is no stranger to AMA Pro Road Racing success, having notched up multiple top-five finishes in Superstock and SportBike during his previous stint in the series from 2006-2009, including a career best third-place result taken in the Road America Superstock contest in 2008. His father, Roberto, raced in AMA Pro’s Superbike and F1 classes during the 1980s. Pietri won the 2006 Venezuelan National Superbike Championship and the 2006 Latin American Superbike Championship on a GSX-R1000 prepared and crewed by Team Hammer. “We worked with Robertino before, so the team knows him well,” said Team Hammer General Manager Keith Perry. “He has raced against some very tough competition in Moto2 since we last worked with him, so it will be interesting to see how he’s developed as a rider. We’re excited about this project.”