Tati Mercado
Team Pedercini has announced they have decided that Spaniard David Salom and Argentinean Leandro “Tati” Mercado will lead their line up in the World Superbike Championship for 2012.
Both riders will be taking part in the next test at the Philip Island Circuit in Australia from February 13th-15th and also the official test on the 20th and 21st, a week before the opening race of the season which will be held on the same track.
David Salom was born on the 16th October 1984 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. His first major achievement was winning the Spanish Supersport Championship in 2006 and between 2007 and 2009 he competed in the World Supersport Championship. David joined the Pedercini team in 2009 and made his debut in the Superbike class. In 2010 David returned to the Supersport class and finished a very impressive 2nd onboard his Kawasaki.
Tati Mercado was born on the 15th February 1992 in Jesus Maria, Cordoba, Argentina. He won the AMA Supersport Championship in 2009 and the following year competed in the Superstock 600cc European Championship. In 2011 Tati joined up with the Pedercini team and competed in the Superstock 1000cc FIM Cup and Stock 1000cc Italian Championship.
The entire team is said to be delighted to see the return of both riders for the 2012 campaign. Salom and Mercado are already familiar with all the teams' technical staff; this will surely help both riders and the team as they prepare for the upcoming season which opens in Australia in only a few weeks.
Donato Pedercini: “I'm extremely satisfied with the agreement reached with David Salom and Tati Mercado and I'm very happy to have the possibility to work with them again during the 2012 World Superbike championship. I know both of them very well and I appreciated their riding qualities and determination. Mercado is young and talented. He's full of enthusiasm and has a real passion for racing. I think he'll be the youngest Superbike rider this year and we will do our best to help him to adapt to our Kawasaki Superbike. Salom is still young but already has some experience. He's strongly motivated and is on our wavelength in terms of projects and targets. We are now working hard to be ready for the first test in Phillip Island and also for the first races of the season. We are expecting a very busy season but one full of great professional satisfaction.”
David Salom: “I’m very happy to say that I will join the Pedercini Team for the 2012 World Superbike Championship. I know all the Pedercini team and they are professional, enthusiastic and ambitious. I want to thank the Pedercini family as they are giving me the opportunity to compete once again in the World Superbike category. I'm really looking forward to this new adventure, as staying on a Kawasaki motorcycle was very important to me. I know that, compared with 2009, the bike is now more competitive and the team also has more experience so I can’t wait to get started!”
Leandro “Tati” Mercado: “I am really happy to have made this choice and proud to be competing with Team Pedercini in World Superbike. Right from the start of my career, I always considered Superbike to be the premier class and my main goal. I am honoured to remain a part of this fantastic group of people and to be joining them as part of an ambitious project. I'm also very happy to have David Salom as a teammate. I know he's an expert rider and I'm sure he'll help me as I start this new adventure in such a difficult World Championship. I'll do my best to pay back the faith Pedercini family have shown in me with some good results and technical development.”
