OM NEWS • OM Official Sponsor of Ducati

SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2007- THE RESULTS

BAYLISS BRINGS 999 ERA TO AN END FOR DUCATI

XEROX AS TOSELAND TAKES TITLE

The paterneship between OM and Ducati have been particularly fortunate in the last two seasons of the Superbike Championship: at first in 2005 (with The Englishman James Toseland and the French Regis Laconi), then in 2006 (with the Australian Troy Bayliss and the Italian Lorenzo Lanzi) the Ducati Xerox Team has wined so far much more victories than any other squad has done.

The agreement of sponsorship between OM and Ducati, which begun in 2005, allows the cut-in of the new logo of the historical Italian company OM on the red and white racing suits of the Ducati Xerox Team and on the front part of the motorcycles. "OM and Ducati are two examples of the Italian technological excellence", goes on Chinaglia. "The demonstration that in order to compete at the international level quality and passion are the true keystones to win "

OM Carreli Elevatori celebrated the good start of the Superbike championship 2007 thanks to the victories of the title holder Troy Bayliss at the beginning of March on the circuit of Phillip Island and the best lap time of Ducati Xerox Team at the end of the first two days of the official Superbike tests held on March 18, in Valencia, Spain and had good hopes that Ducati Xerox Team would win again this season.

"We are very proud indeed of the success of Troy!" comments Francesco Chinaglia, Sales & Marketing Director of OM Carreli Elevatori. "Bayliss is not only a pilot with a fighting spirit but also a true sportsman, whose determination and seriousness represent the values which inspire OM ".

Unfortunately after a good start the 38 year-old Australian concluded the 2007

Championship in fourth place on 372 points.

Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi had a disappointing end to his period in the factory Ducati Xerox Team with a nasty high-speed crash at the start of race 1. Lorenzo suffered bruising to his right shoulder, elbow and knee, which forced him to miss, race 2. The Manufacturers’ title went to Yamaha, with Ducati in second place, but there was satisfaction for the Italian manufacturer today as 19 year-old Niccolò Canepa clinched the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup with the new twin-cylinder Ducati 1098S in its first year of competition.

“I guess it was a little bit up and down today” declared Troy. “It took me a little while to actually get going in race 1 because the guys were going really fast at the start of the race. But I managed to keep the momentum going and started reeling them back in. Our bike’s not slow but there are a couple of tracks where we suffer a little bit was all over by then. I’m happy to have taken the 999 to the end of its career, I’ve had a great time on it and it’s been kind to me...once! And now I’m really looking forward to riding the new bike next year!”

“It was a real pity” declared Lorenzo. “Today I felt really good and I was sure I could have got a couple of good results because I had a really good feeling with the bike. I wanted to make a good start and I did, and I was almost immediately taking Corser for second place. Then I felt the rear go away from me, I thought I had overdone it in the curve but after looking at the replay I realised that James touched me. Unfortunately these things happen, that’s racing, I’ve also touched other riders’ wheels when overtaking. Luckily nothing’s broken, but I’ve got some severe bruising which prevented me from taking part in race 2.”

Davide Tardozzi, Ducati Corse Superbike Director, added: “We won seven races this year, demonstrating that the 999 is still a competitive bike. Although we lost the title, we know that we could have been in with a chance of winning it. A few too many mistakes during the season unfortunately prevented us from coming to Magny- Cours for the final round with the title still to play for, but we know we’ve got a great rider and a great bike. Satisfaction however for the Ducati Xerox Junior Team. The 1098 is a winning machine, it won with Niccolò who is a talented young rider and for sure the bike lent a hand. It’s a great result!”.

OM Carreli Elevatori is an Italian leading company in the field of forklift and warehouse trucks for intralogistics, but more and more it is targeting on foreign markets, thanks to the strategy of the KION Group aimed at the development of new market shares.