“Sportsman of The Year” Award for Michel Fabrizio

Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio was invited to Rome's Campidoglio last week to receive the “Sportsman of The Year” award from the Mayor of the city, Gianni Alemanno. The 25-year-old rider was awarded for “his noteworthy contribution to the world of sport and results achieved during 2009,” as Ducati says in a company statement.

“I am very happy to received this award today as I am a proud Italian but an even more proud Roman! It is an honour to have been recognized by my city for my achievements, along with so may other top Roman sportsmen and women,” Fabrizio stated after attending the ceremony.

The Italian continues with the Ducati Xerox Team for a third consecutive season in 2010 and looks to improve on his third place result in the 2009 Superbike championship standings. Fabrizio will compete for Ducati alongside Japanese rider Noriyuki Haga, and having Marco Lozej as his track engineer.

The Italian team underwent significant internal reorganization this year, after Davide Tardozzi left the Italian team for new challenges at BMW, being replaced by Ernesto Marinelli who took over the team manager position.

Several other Roman athletes were also formally recognized during the same ceremony for their sporting achievements, such as racing driver Giancarlo Fisichella, footballers Daniele De Rossi, Marco Di Vaio and rugby player Giulio Toniolatti to name just a few.

The event took place in the Sala Protomoteca of the Campidoglio palace, with the Mayor of Rome on hand to congratulate the award winners, alongside sports delegate Alessandro Cochi, the president of the board for culture Federico Mollicone and the president of Milan's sports committee Riccardo Viola.