Mark Aitchison has been left without a World Superbike ride after Effenbert Liberty Ducati announced today that they will no longer be competing in the championship - a move the Aussie was only told about yesterday giving him no time to try and find a ride for this weekend's Donigton Park round.
This is the second time the Aussie has been in this situation in 2012. At the beginning of the year Aitchison had signed for the Splitlath Redmond team in British Superbike, alongside Jakub Smrz, but the team withdrew a month before the first race at Brands Hatch.
Aitchison then joined the Italian team in April and their first race this year was at the Motorland Aragon round of the World Superbike Championship, but after only three rraces the team have called it quits, leaving the rider very disappointed.
"The team has had a change in their strategy for what they want to do for the rest of the season and as far as I am aware they are looking to pull their investments out of World Superbikes, and to put their marketing into other programmes. I am not sure what that will be in, but unfortunately for me and the rest of the team and the other guys involved it is really disappointing, and for my side of things it is disappointing," said Aitchison, speaking to Bikesport News.
"I had no idea this was going to happen, I found out only yesterday at midday. The idea was to have a whole season with the team in World Superbikes and I would like to continue, but unfortunately this is where I am and I have been in this situation before."
The Australian is hoping to bounce back and secure another World Superbike ride for the rest of the season, and has not ruled out the possibility of returning to the British Superbike paddock.
"I hope I can find another job, but there are not so many teams in Superbike now and the numbers are dwindling and the Superbike grid is quite small, but I need to see what is available now, and I need to keep myself open. I would love to stay in World Superbikes, but if there is a position in British Superbikes then I would need to look at it, but I am not sure at this stage."
