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MY EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP WITH THE Y2K DUCATI TEAM
But let us start from the beginning. The liaison began with the mail coming to the office in 2006. I was very surprised to see that I was to answer if I was willing to start for the Y2K Ducati Team for the 2007 Italian and European Championships. Up until that point, this team and their riders were my competition, not only on the racetrack, but also outside. I remember the race in Hengelo where we were disqualified on behalf of the Y2K Ducati Team - I will tell you more about this later. Back to that cold and rainy November in 2006. I received an e-mail on my computer, and after a few minutes I understood what it was about. I wondered why an Italian factory supported team would ask a German rider to start. Today I know – because Ducati always wants the best. The best team, the best bike, the best crew and the best riders. Okay, we all know that having the best in racing isn’t always guaranteed to bring victories and titles, but it is the foundation. That disqualification in Hengelo was the best for Ducati – something that I understand today. It was also the step to winning the European Championship for Paola Cazzola in 2006. It was that same November when my manager, Monique, and I got on a flight from Germany to Bologna. We really didn’t have any goals – I had planned on ending my racing career at the end of 2006, so really we had nothing to lose. I remember getting off the plane as clearly as if it were yesterday. It was a beautiful day in Italy, and at the Ducati factory, we met with Claudio and Marco – two men who today are not only my bosses and sponsors, but also my friends. Both of them wanted me to become a member of the Ducati racing team, and after a few words in the office, they showed me the factory where these wonderful bikes are produced. This factory is state of the art, and Ducati not only produces bikes, Ducati lives bikes and racing. This was my fascination. Claudio and Marco explained that there were hopes and goals for the Y2K Team in 2007 and that I could be a part of these. Both men told me that they have had their eyes on me for a while, beginning in 2006 when I tested the MV Agusta in Misano. In Vallelunga, the first race in the European Championship 2006, they were looking again, for the second time. During the free track and qualifying sessions, I showed them with my perfect lap times that women are able to drive just as fast as men. The press spoke in the Sunday journals about the successor from Giacomo Agostini. During the race, I had only one thing in common with Agostini – a crash. I had a complete nervous breakdown because the crash was unnecessary, and after the rest of the riders had passed me, I got up and started racing again. In the end, I had travelled 1,500 kilometres from Germany to this wonderful racetrack and got zero points. This isn’t possible. Forget the pain and keep fighting. 
I remember winning the race, after which the Y2K Team gave me an hour to feel like a winner before protesting for a wrong windshield that didn’t conform to the Superstock regulations. Ducati was right and later got the championship. Now I am sitting with both gentlemen on a warm November day in Italy. They have already prepared a contract that includes everything I have dreamed of – a factory supported team equalling the best. In Germany, back where it was still cold and rainy, I tried for three days to find something negative in this offer, but I couldn’t find anything. I signed the contract and sent it back to Italy. In spring of 2007, I finally had contact with my new “tool” – a wonderful, brand new Ducati 1098S. I was really nervous during the free track sessions with a completely Italian team and three female Italian riders, but there was no direct pressure from the team (although I knew they wanted to check my performance). It was not easy with the new bike, and nobody had had any experience with it, but they all came together and worked so much. Thank you, dear team and Monique for working so hard. At least we had a complete bike at the Vallelunga race for the European Championship. During this weekend we dominated everything – free track and qualifying sessions and the race. However, I was more excited to be on the poster and the tickets for the race. The second stop was Assen, Netherlands where the team and I again dominated the free track and qualifying sessions. It started raining during the race, but we won once again. If I had made only one small mistake, the championship would have been gone. After the two wins in Italy and one in the Netherlands, I finally had my home race in Germany. During the German Speed Week in Oschersleben with more than 40,000 spectators, we were able to demonstrate racing on a high level. It was a pleasure for me to start there because I know so many people, and it was good for the team to represent Ducati in this area. It was the perfect weekend. It was not necessary to push during the race – the only rule was to finish. This is my first international title and one of the first titles for the Ducati 1098 S – something that I am very proud of. I am so happy to be part of this team, and I want to take the chance to tell everyone thank you: Luca for a great suspension Giorgio for great mechanics Roberto for catering Marco and Claudio for perfect management And last, but not least, everybody on the team, the sponsors and friends. As I write this article, it is a warm day in August and I am thinking of the season that just passed and remember the slogan of the Desmo Club in Rome: “There is only one rule: Ducati” I hope we follow this rule for a long time. 
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