Brett McCormick was 24th quickest aboard the Liberty Racing Team Effenbert Ducati 1098R in the Friday opening Free Practice at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari venue in Imola, Italy, round two of the Superbike World Championship. The native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was making his debut on the World Superbike tour after moving to the top class in a last minute change of plans by the Effenbert crew.
2011 Canadian Superbike Champ McCormick, 20, was aboard one of the team’s just rebuilt Ducati Desmo v-twins, the bike having been for sale prior to McCormick’s switch from the European SuperStock series to Superbike.
“For a new bike, it was really good right out of the box, obviously the guys know what they’re doing,” explained McCormick, “There are a few small changes to make, but most of all I did a lot of laps, and that’s what you need to learn the bike, the track, the whole series.”
McCormick continued, “The thing that most impressed me was just how fast the bike is, it’s really quick. Given how new everything was, I was pretty happy with my times, and I really didn’t put too many laps together that felt all right. This is a technical track, and you have to take a measured approach – I’m really pumped about our start, it was a solid first outing on the Effenbert Liberty Ducati.”
McCormick registered the 20th best top speed during the opening session of the European season, in close company with his three team-mates. McCormick’s Ducati measured 264.5 kph through the traps, while Marco Melandri’s BMW S1000RR was quickest with a run at 281.5 kph.
Quickest in the opening session was the BMW Motorrad Italia entry of Ayrton Badovini with a lap at 1:49.081, followed by the Effenbert Liberty entry of Sylvain Guintoli at 1:49.2. Series World Champ Carlos Checa was third at 1:49.230 on the Althea Ducati. McCormick’s best lap of the 18 he turned in his debut outing was 1:54.606.
Watch Inside Motorcycles throughout the weekend as Colin Fraser reports live from Imola.
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