Earlier this month Effenbert Liberty Racing launched a new website and posted a photoshopped image of a BMW S1000RR in Effenbert livery saying “Team Effenbert Liberty Racing is back“, while the rumor mill continued to churn out that the Czech team is planning a comeback and would be contesting the World Superbike Motorland Aragon round next month.
Now the photo of the BMW machine that supposedly was bought/leased from a CIV Superbike team as been removed and a Ducati 1098R (which the team used in 2012, until they folded) has been been put in its place with, “The team Effenbert Liberty Racing is proud to announce the 2013 bike: Ducati 1098R“.
However it seems that team owner Mario Bertuccio is having a little trouble finding a rider.
Lorenzo Lanzi seems to have turned them down, as has former rider Jakub Smrz (he was the last rider to be axed after a so called re-organization process that Effenbert Liberty went through).
The 29-year old Czech rider told Speedweek.
de that he had been contacted, but he said that he’d rather continue to try to find a ride in the British Superbike championship.
Always according to the German website, Bertuccio is apparently now in talks with the 24-year-old Simone Grotzkyj Giorgi, who was axed after the 2012 Mugello GP by Moto3 team Ambrogio Next Racing to make room for Álex Marquez, and the Italian was later tipped to be heading to World Superbikes and team Pedercini, but that deal went sour as he ended up in Italian team’s Superstock 1000 squad with four other riders.