Former World Superbike rider and double Italian Superbike Champion Alessandro Polita will make his Isle of Man TT debut at this year’s road racing event.
The Italian will compete in all 1000cc races – the Superbike, Superstock and Senior TT events – on a BMW S1000RR machine for former TT competitor Roberto Antonellini.
Ahead of his TT debut, Polita said: “Returning from a weekend to the Island of Man, I’ve had the chance to reflect on my first steps that will lead me to one of the most important international motorcycling events for my career.
Taking in the Island, studying the course supervised by the hugely knowledgeable Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle, I understand the great honor that I have in being part of this great road racers family.
“We studied every centimetre of the Island, and I am committed to fully live this adventure, as I always I said, without any ambitions or targets, but with only the need to find and experience again those feelings and emotions that only those who live in the motorcycling world can feel racing a motorcycle.”
Polita made a name for himself in 2006 by taking the European Superstock 1000cc Championship crown on-board the Team Celani Suzuki machine.
The 31-year-old’s performance that season led him to World Superbikes, where he scored points on five occasions despite competing on the relatively un-competitive GSXR 1000 K6 Suzuki.
He moved back to the European Superstock Championship in 2008 and ended the season in third position – just ten points off the title.
2009 should have seen Polita continue with Team Sterilgarda into World Superbikes as the team-mate to Shane Byrne.
The global economic crisis intervened however and the team were forced to cut back to running just the four-time British Superbike champion.
In 2010 Polita made the move back home and dominated the Italian Superbike Championship – taking the title by an impressive 41 points ahead of Stefano Cruciani.
Polita again scored points in the World Superbike Championship in 2012 when he rode for the Red Devils Roma Ducati team.
Since then he has been highly successful in the Italian championship riding for the Guandalini Racing and BMW teams.
The 2016 TT officially gets underway on Saturday, May 28.
