Now it is official. Team Pro Ride and MZ Motor have signed on last Thursday (28/10) in Zschopau, Germany, at MZ headquarters, an agreement to go together in Moto2 for the 2011 season. The rider is Max Neukirchner and the second rider is still to be decided in the next days between a list of three names: Arne Tode, Michael Ranseder and Anthony West.

This agreement previews that Pro Ride will manage all MZ racing activities at the Moto2 World Championship and will participate actively in the development of the new bike, while Mr. Peter Rubatto will be the Team Manager and in addition will coordinate MZ activities in the Spanish Championship. The cooperation has become possible due to a great effort of the CEO of MZ Motorrad, Martin Wimmer, a successful former GP 250cc rider, who understood perfectly the project presented by Pro Ride.

Pro Ride CEO, Marco Nicotari, will be the technical director for the team and the project, and will have also the role of track engineer for Max Neukirchner.

The project starts immediately after the last GP in Valencia, and probably will have as a "kick start" the tests after the race, in the same circuit.

The project includes also many other activities which are going to be revealed in the next months.

The bikes will be assembled and developed in Germany and technically managed at Pro Ride's base, in Lucca, Tuscany, where part of the Team will be working full time, in total cooperation with Zschopau, where the MZ Factory technicians are based.

In the next weeks our new website will be online and all the news about the steps and results of the project will be informed.

Meanwhile, MZ staff in the factory is preparing the production of the new range of MZ EMMELY eco-friendly products, which are consisted of an electric-powered scooter and two others with hybrid power plants. The scooters have already been presented to the public at the last Cologne Intermot, in Germany. Now MZ is well prepared for a good future in road and racing products, under Martin Wimmer's direction.

 

   

 

Max Neukirchner, Rider: “For me a kid´s dream comes true because my father was also riding a MZ when I was a kid. Some of the old bikes are still in our living room. We have here in a very close area the traditional brand MZ, the Sachsenring and also my home. Martin Wimmer, the C.E.O. of MZ, is since a long time a good friend of my family and was a great rider in the past. I’ am very happy that we find in Marco Nicotari/Pro Ride Racing a strong partner for the technical site. He will be the technical director for MZ and also my Crewchief. I am looking forward to test the Bike in Valencia after the last Moto GP race there. We know that we have a lot of work to do in the next months. After seven great years in the WSBK Paddock starts now a new chapter. I leave it as a friend, and maybe in the future we’ll cross our roads again! Thank you all at the WSBK and a warm hallo to Moto2!”

 

Martin Wimmer, CEO MZ Motorrad: “Max riding abilities will help us to make a step forward in the Moto2 World Championship. Adding that he is Saxonian as MZ, it makes everything even more exciting. Besides this, we find in Marco Nicotari / Pro Ride Racing a perfect partner for our Project. Marco has a lot of experience that will help to build a very good bike for Max and the second rider. Also we can use the complete Pro Ride structure for all the research that a Moto2 bike needs to be even more competitive. We have achieved Top Ten results with only 10 day preparation before the season 2010 started, thus our expectations in the cooperation is high. I am sure that the binomial MZ-Pro Ride at Moto2 is the beginning of a promising partnership.”

 

Peter Rubatto, Team Manager MZ: I had the difficult task this year to take over the MZ Moto 2 Team management during the season with 1 day preparation before the Assen GP. So far we had 3 Top Ten results, the last race in Portugal we ended 3 secs behind the winner in P7 scoring best practice times of all in wet conditions. I am looking forward to the cooperation with Marco and will coordinate all MZ Road Racing activities in 2011

 

Ing. Marco Nicotari, Technical Director: “This partnership is what we have been looking for. A serious project, with professional people. Max is actually a rider that I have been observing for some seasons. Besides the personal side, which is truly human and had already created a nice rapport between us, I am absolutely sure that he is the rider we need to build a bike that can put MZ further to top positions. And I mean: fast and precise.

Martin Wimmer, by his side, has been clearly the KEY element to make everything happen, with a very professional approach, and a very clear project. I have been at MZ factory and I can say that I am impressed with the projects, the professionalism and mainly the humanity of the people there. The projects, the commercial and technical plans, the clearness and honesty to present every point have helped me to decide to face this new challenge as the most important of my all career. Me and my staff are motivated, looking forward to start the work. I’m happy to come back to a paddock that was the basis of my path at the motorcycle racing world.”

 

For further information on Pro Ride, please contact our Press Office at info@proridesbk.com

 

For further information on MZ Racing, please contact MZ Press officer:

Andy Schulz at a.schulz@muz.de and
MZ Media Internet Service

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high resolution product images are available for Download.
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Capannori – Italy – Pro Ride World Superbike officially announces that it will miss Round 2 at Portimao and Round 3 at Valencia of the 2010 FIM World Superbike Championship due a serious delay within the negotiations with a major sponsor.

 

Pro Ride has missed the opening round of the the Championship at Phillip Island due to logistics problem. Since then, Pro Ride rider, Makoto Tamada has joined the team in Capannori, and has been preparing for Portimao. The machines and the structure of the team are 100% ready, however, this unexpected delay of a major sponsorship negotiation that was about to be concluded leaves no choice for the team to miss Portimao and Valencia.

 

Pro Ride is being since last October consulted by Speed of Japan, who is in charge of marketing and sponsorship sales, and is searching for a solution to start the race at Assen.

 

At the same time, one very good opportunity to keep our rider, Makoto Tamada in action, has appeared to us. We, Makoto and his management together decided that it is a good opportunity to him to keep his pace, so he announce that Makoto Tamada will race the Portimao round of the Superbike World Championship with BMW Reitwagen Team. We thank Mr. Alfred Inzinger for this opportunity to have our rider on the track, while we wait to solve our sponsorship issues. This agreement is valid only for the race of Portimao, and the test after the race, on monday, the 29th.

 

Comments

 

Makoto Tamada, Rider

 

“Needless to say I am disappointed that we are going to miss Portimao and Valencia. I have been working with Marco at the workshop since the beginning of the month, and we are 100% ready to race. At the same time be back on the track is something good for all of us. I hope to do well in Portimao ”

 

Ing. Marco Nicotari, Team owner and technical director, Pro Ride Honda World SBK

 

“We at Pro Ride were expecting coming back to the races much sooner than the facts are showing now. Being ready to race is not enough if a major sponsor doesn’t come. It is a pity that a brand new and ready structure must stay at home because of the long timing a sponsorship project and contract needs to become the funds necessary to move a structure as big as ours. But I believe Speed of Japan is doing its best to find the right solution and I hope to be racing in Assen. We have been making and testing many modifications in our bikes and they are getting Makoto’s profile. We are really eager to put them on the track and see what all the work we are doing at home will give us in terms of performance. I don’t want to see a repetition of 2009 and we are a 100% aimed to avoid this. About Makoto's participation at Portimao Race with BMW Reitwagen Team is something that all of us decided together and we think that it is better to keep him "warm". We thank Mr. Alfred Inzinger for the opportunity he is giving to Makoto.”

 

 

 

 

 

Capannori – Italy – Pro Ride World Superbike officially announces for immediate release that the team has signed two-time MotoGP winner, Makoto Tamada as rider for 2010.

 

Pro Ride Team Director, Eng. Marco Nicotari is pleased to announce today that the Team has signed with Makoto Tamada as their rider for the 2010 FIM World Superbike Championship. Nicotari also announced that the team will be competing this season with Honda machinery. Tamada, well known for his two-time win in the MotoGP, will be back with Honda after parting the Japanese manufacturer for 3 years. Tamada has raced on a Honda since his novice years in Japan, and has brought Honda many wins. His three wins in the World Superbike was when Tamada raced with HRC factory team in Japan.

 

Pro Ride and Nicotari have lots of experience on the Honda CBR1000RR, and with Tamada’s ability and Nicotari’s expertise, the team will aim for the top Honda team, as well as the Championship.

 

Comments

Makoto Tamada, Rider

“As much as I am excited to work with Marco (Nicotari), I am thrilled to be back with Honda. I have always been a “Honda” rider. I have not performed at my best potential since I left Honda. This year, I plan to be competitive, and show everyone that Makoto Tamada is still very competitive. I thank Honda and Marco for believing in me and I plan to repay them with a couple of wins this year.”

 

Eng. Marco Nicotari, Team owner and technical director, Pro Ride Honda World SBK

“The entire Team is thrilled about this agreement. I have been observing Makoto for a long time and I really believe that he has the spirit we are looking for. He knows Honda machines and he knows how to be fast. I truly believe that with us he can be back on top. “GAMBATTE KUDASAI, MAKOTO-SAN!”.

 

 

Keita Muramatsu, General Manager, Motor Sports Division, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate Tamada that he would continue in the World Superbike Championship. The current economic crisis that we are all experiencing has also affected Motorsports Teams. Even in this hard time, I have heard that the team that Tamada signed is a new team to World Superbike Championship.

 

It has been four years since Tamada has been on a Honda, and I wish that with his experience in MotoGP, the Japanese National Championship, and the World Superbike Championship, he will be able to bring the new team to a competitive level. I expect him to do well. Being a successful Japanese rider in the World Championship, that Japanese riders in Japan aiming for the World will aim at. ”

 

          Makoto Tamada, Career Profile

 

 

         1998 All Japan Road Race Championship GP250: Ranking 4th / Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race: 10th

         1999 All Japan Road Race Championship Superbike: Ranking 5th / Suzuka 8 Hours  Endurance Race: 8th

         2000 All Japan Road Race Championship Superbike: Ranking 3rd / Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race: 43rd

                    All Japan Road Race Championship Superbike: Ranking 2nd

                    Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race: 4th

                   All Japan Road Race Championship Superbike: Ranking 4th

                   Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race: 2nd

                   Road Race World Championship MotoGP Class: 11th(Japan GP 3rd)

                   Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race: 5th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Portimao - Portugal - Pro Ride Racing, lead by Eng. Marco Nicotari, is in its final stage preparing for the 2010 season. An unavoidable situation lead to a decision where Nicotari had to stop continuing his season in 2009. He is now determined that in 2010 that would not happen.

 

 

Negotiations are currently being held with manufacturers, sponsors, and riders, and Nicotari is making it sure that the package for the 2010 season is one that would make the team competitive from the beginning of the season.

 

 

"I am making it sure that we are competitive from the 1st race of the season." said Nicotari. "Currently, I have succeeded in procuring the best machines and mechanics. We are currently in negotiation with several top riders also. If we can be committed financially, then Pro Ride will make the qualitative leap that we are looking for a long time."

 

 

Nicotari is also negotiating with a marketing company with an expertise in Motor Sports. This marketing company will be in charge of sponsorship acquisitions, as well as publicity strategies to make sure Pro Ride is the best buy in the paddock.

 

 

"The marketing company I am in negotiations with is an expert in Motorsports. They have been present in Europe, USA, and Asia. I am confident about the team management technically, but marketing the team has been my weakest point. With them on board, Pro Ride would be a team where the sponsors find their fundings in best hands. Almost all of the details have been agreed upon, and we should be signing a marketing contract with them pretty soon."

 

 

With regards to the riders, Nicotari commented, "I am also in talks with several riders, all of whom have been winners. They are all interested in what I have to offer."

 

 

Misano – Italy – Sunday – After long 5 months apart from the paddock, Pro Ride Superbike has not missed the second Italian round of the World Superbike Championship. The Team is still looking for alternatives to come back to the race track, but the team and managing director, the Eng. Marco Nicotari, has taken this round at Misano to attend important meetings with our technical sponsors and also to discuss some interesting possibilities for the Team. The idea is coming back to the Championship as fast as possible, but for sure this is a decision that depends on certain ongoing negotiations and also on essential elements that we need to consider and analize before restarting our racing activities. These elements basically are: finding the right rider and the missing sponsors to cover each race budget. As it has been widely broadcasted in our previous communications, the team structure and staff is ready to be at any round of the World Superbike Championship, however we intend to do it only when we found all the proper conditions for that.

Meanwhile, at our workshop in Capannori (LU), Italy, we have been building up the entire commercial and marketing department of our company, specially looking for maketing partnerships. Our e-commerce is working since March and can be accessed by clicking on the link “shop” of our website www.proridesbk.com and we have been supplying teams and privateers that are seaching for special racing parts and racing consulting.

For sure walking around the paddock gave us the right ideia of into what extent the world economical crisis has affect the area and the solutions the racing world has found to overcome it. Brainstorming was the key word during the weekend for us and we are ready to re-plan our strategies and projects for next season.

We would like to thank Infront, specially to Paolo Ciabatti, Giulio Bardi, Sabrina Mangia, Olga Yarets, Federica Marti and Julian Thomas to give us this opportunity and to help us to keep our work in the paddock, even if not racing yet. Pro Ride also thanks to all the media and journalists, specially to Gordon Richie, Paolo Gozzi, Luigi Rivola, Luca Sordi, Paolo Scalera and Claudio Porrozzi for the attention and support given.

It was amazing being near the noise that comes from the track. Better will be producing ouselves this noise again.

CAPANNORI – ITALY – The Team Pro Ride World Superbike was supposed to finally start the 2009 season of the Superbike World Championship from its first Italian round, at the fast Monza circuit. But as anyone can see from the races results, we weren’t there. Why? The past months were crucial inside the Team headquarters at Lucca, where all the efforts have been to find new partnerships for all the projects we have prepared for 2009 and the ones we are preparing for 2010. Our structure is ready to be at any race, but we still need sponsorship to move it and make it finally race again.

The Perfomance Center is also under construction and we expect it will be officially inaugurated by the end of this semester. We are planning a nice event to launch this important project that will mark the beginning of a new phase for Pro Ride.  Media, sponsors and the sector main representatives will be communicated and invited as soon as we have the precise date.

Moreover, we would like to inform the media, our sponsors and the public that we do not intend to sell the Team or to close our Racing Department, since racing is exactly the basis of our activity and the origin of the company. Some rumours came about at the paddock in Monza and this official communicate is also to clear it and once again release what the Team real intentions are. Actually we are restructuring this department and looking for new marketing strategies (with the support of companies and people specialized in this kind of acitivity) to avoid the lack of sponsorship in future seasons. This process requires a lot of investiment, amministrative decisions and hard work.

 

Says the Eng. Marco Nicotari:

“We are a serious and well structured company in the administration and techinical areas, but it is clearly missing stronger commercial and marketing departments.  That’s why we are working with some marketing specialists to solve this gap that are separating us from racing. For me it is easy to show how valuable it is the product we have, but in a moment like the one we are living nowadays, it is not easy to reach the people that can invest in racing projects and convince them that the “crisis” would not necessarily affect us. The targets now are launching the Performance Center, finally finding the partners that we are searching for a long time and that would be interested in investing in the second half of the championship with us and planning 2010.  For next season we have been working in a project that is already half developed. Besides, for the rider that will be with us this year and probably also in 2010, I’d like to inform that we have been talking to very important names in the racing world, but nothing has been decided yet. It’s simply unacceptable for me being far from the pit lane. However, I am responsible for a name and a company, and I am not keen to move my staff and my structure without a safe budget.”

 

CAPANNORI , ITALY – One of the most difficult things in the racing environment is giving bad news to the press and to partners. The concern is: what about the Team’s image? Rumors can destroy lot of hard and honest work. But the question is: What happens with a racing team that cannot race? How can we explain that things stronger than our plans, than our eager to work and to produce could be strong enough to keep us at home? No one who is part of the Team Pro Ride World Superbike wants to be far from the race tracks. From the sound of the engine revving. Maybe one that has never heard this amazing sound would not understand. But we have it inside. And the ones who also have it inside will surely understand how hard it is to communicate to all supporters and to the world media that the Team has decided not taking part in the Valencia Round of the Superbike World Championship.

 

This difficult decision was taken after many internal meetings, mainly between the Team Manager and the Spanish rider Gregorio Lavilla. And it was based only on the economic crisis which nowadays is more than spreaded out. We are crazy about races, engines and bikes, but we are also (and mainly) a young and serious company and Pro Ride srl must look after its most important project. We have changed our strategy due to the world scenario. It means that Pro Ride will participate in some races this season and concentrate efforts in our “Performance Center”,   an activity dreamed by the Eng. Marco Nicotari for more than 20 years. The aim is to balance and increase our racing budget. At the same time, our racing project for 2010 is ready and we are constantly searching for new partners and sponsors. We have planned to be in all Italian rounds of the Superbike World Championship and in some European rounds (calendar to be defined soon). Unfortunately that means we cannot afford Gregorio Lavilla as rider anymore, since he certainly deserves to race all rounds and to show his talent to the world without economic barriers. Pro Ride and Lavilla were a perfect match, and this would continue if we had enough sponsors to keep this amazing project. The cooperation between Lavilla and Pro Ride ends in a friendly way, because both parts see very clearly that the situation was inevitable. We know that Gregorio will find nice opportunities for the 2009 season and Pro Ride will always keep its doors open to him.

The entire Team is making a hard effort to beat this moment and we believe this is the best attitude to help ourselves and our country to overcome the crisis.

 

Says the Eng. Marco Nicotari, Team Manager:

 

“We had the dream environment this season…Experienced technicians, good internal organization, very good rider…The bike has achieved a point of development where we believed that Gregorio, with his talent and experience, would be able to give us amazing moments…We felt that finally we were close to the points and to come back to the top 10...But the economical crisis does not have eyes for these kind of things.

Nobody inside the Team is happy. We are very angry and disappointed with a situation that is simply out of our control. We are a Team and we want to ride…But how? “Sponsorship” has become almost a forbidden word inside most of the companies nowadays. The key word inside the marketing departments worldwide is “save money” and who lives from sponsorship suffers deeply. Talking to my technicians “guys, we don’t have Lavilla anymore and I’m not sure how many races we can do this year” was one of the worst moments of my career. Gregorio was a choice that I made with both my brain and my heart. I feel sad for all this and I hope Pro Ride will soon develop the other commercial possibilities that will allow us to be as more independent as possible. We are still fighting for new sponsors (which are close but not “in” yet), the project for 2010 is ready and we are aware that sometimes an army must take one step back to restore its strength and make many steps further.”

 

All things considered, we would like to thank Infront, specially Mr. Paolo Ciabatti, for allowing us to make the races we can afford. Without this support the Team would never have the chance to stay in the Superbike World Championship. Being part of a high-level event like this is certainly the motivation we need to find solutions and to grow. Besides, we also address an special thank to Mr. Giulio Bardi, who is a real sportsman and a dear friend of this Team. Pro Ride World Superbike thanks all its supporters and sponsors, Mormaii, Valter Moto, Carbonin, Wladoil, Nissin, Giannelli, DID, BMC, Unifila, Titax, Drive Beer and HM Quickshifter for believing in us and being on our side in any moment. Behind these respectful brands there are special people and we enjoy working together. Finally, we specially thank Gregorio Lavilla, for his comprehension, pacience, professionality, fair play and perfect attitude towards these hard times.

 

Pro Ride World Superbike is making its best to be in Assen, and surely we will be present in the round of Monza. We plan launching a more precise calendar in the next weeks and as soon as our “Performance Center” be ready, an official communication will be released. We are available to answer to any doubt that may raise and our Press Officer (info@proridesbk.com) will answer them promptly.