Massimo
Roccoli made
a swift
transition
from a
Superstock
1000cc
machine to a
Supersport
World
Championship
YZF-R6 in
2006, and
this year he
returns to
supersport
in Yamaha
Motor
Italia's
satellite
Lorenzini by
Leoni team.
The
21-year-old
came to
international
prominence
at the end
of the 2004
season, when
he made
several
appearances
as a
wild-card
rider on
Lorenzini's
supersport
and
superstock
bikes,
scoring 11th
place in
each of his
supersport
outings and
a fine fifth
on his R1
debut.
That led to
a full-time
ride in the
FIM
Superstock
1000 Cup in
2005, where
he was one
of the
revelations
of the year.
Starting
like a
train,
standing on
the podium
in each of
the opening
three races,
and taking
the win at
Silverstone.
But the
second half
of the
season saw a
drop in
Massimo's
performance,
which he
attributed
to the tough
schedule of
international
racing and
the physical
stress
riding the
180bhp R1
was putting
on his
slightly
built body.
In 2006
Roccoli was
delighted to
be back on
the 600cc
supersport
machines on
which he
built his
reputation.
The Rimini
rider won
the Italian
Yamaha R6
cup in 2003
before going
on to take
an R6 to
third in the
Italian
supersport
championship
the
following
year, giving
him a
perfect
pedigree for
the global
600cc class.
His
possibilities
in the
Supersport
class last
year were
turned into
impressive
realities on
occasion and
indeed he
became the
first rider
to score a
WSS win on
the radical
new Yamaha.
His win came
at his
hometown
track of
Misano, and
his popular
victory
helped to
put him
sixth
overall at
season end.
Roccoli is
now looking
to add
regular
podium-scoring
consistency
to his
already
proven
winning
talents, as
he enters
his second
full WSS
season.
