Lorenzo Zanetti from Ducati New York verbally had the promise that he would contest the US Superbike series MotoAmerica for her in 2021. But then suddenly Loris Baz was available and won the bid.
In 2020 Ducati laid the cornerstone for a stronger presence in the US Superbike Championship MotoAmerica. Lorenzo Zanetti started three events in eight races for the Ducati New York team last year and finished six times in the top 3, in Indianapolis as the winner.
The 2021 championship is slated to begin in Atlanta at the end of April – and Ducati is one of the favorites. Team Ducati New York receives technical support from the plant in Borgo Panigale and has acquired a V4R from last year’s World Championship team Brixx Ducati. It will soon be official: Long-time World Championship pilot Loris Baz will pilot the machine – instead of Zanetti.
The Italian is angry because he already had a verbal confirmation for the coming season. But then it became apparent that Baz, eighth in the World Cup, would not find a place in the World Cup. Many experts trust the Frenchman to win the title in the first year. They also agree that Baz is faster than Zanetti with 18 podiums in the Superbike World Championship, including two wins on Kawasaki.
So Ducati grabbed New York.
Zanetti then loudly vented his anger because Ducati and not the team told him that he was being “kicked out”. The 33-year-old is disappointed by the lack of communication with the Americans.
Because Ducati does not contribute financially to the project in the USA, the driver has no say.
Behind the team is a billionaire who, along with numerous other companies, also owns Ducati New York, a branch in Pennsylvania and a casino in Poconos. He left his son to run the racing team. Because the group has no experience with such a difficult bike as the V4R, Ducati sends an electronics technician and a mechanic across the pond to support them. This was also so easy to achieve because Eraldo Ferracci, a legendary figure, is involved: the tuner with Italian roots and his team Fast by Ferracci Ducati won the first two titles in the then new Superbike World Championship with Fred at the end of the 1980s Merkel.
The Ducati management is very happy to have found a potent partner in the USA, because the Italian brand is too small in this huge country to be able to afford its own factory team. In return, it is accepted that the makers behind the figurehead do not do everything as the decision-makers in Bologna would do.
Zanetti will continue to work as a superbike test rider for Ducati and is expected to compete in the Italian Championship for Luca Conforti’s team Broncos Ducati.
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