Belgium manager Francis Batta always had the upmost respect for Suzuki.
He ran the marque for fourteen years taking part in the World Superstock, World Supersport and World Superbikes championships.
His Alstare Suzuki teams won three championship titles, two in World Supersport with Fabrizio Pirovano in 1998 and the again the following year with Stephane Chambon, while Troy Corser brought the Superbike title to the team in 2005.
At the end of 2011, Batta decided with a heavy heart to close down his historic team because Suzuki would or could no longer offer him factory and financial support (the Hamamastu factory also pulled out of MotoGP at the end of the same year) and despite sirens from Kawasaki and Yamaha, he stepped out of racing scene, because the only other manufacturer he was interested in was MV Agusta, but the Italian manufacturer wasn’t quite ready to make their racing return.
Fast forward to the end 0f 2012 and to find that Alstare will be making its comeback to World Superbikes in 2013 with Ducati (they won the European Supersport with Ducati’s 748) and will be fielding Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini on a pair of 1199 Panigale’s.
To finally close the final chapter with Suzuki and start their new adventure with Ducati, the team has prepared this highlight video of their years with Japanese manufacturer, with promises of better and more exciting things to come in the upcoming seasons.
