Sergio Bertocchi defends World Superbike truck hijacking

Former World Superbike team boss Sergio Bertocchi who was accused of hijacking the Alto Evolution team trucks, was in Misano at the weekend, defending his position.

Sergio Bertocchi doesn’t deny that he took the race truck, but maintains that the reason he took them is because they belong to him and that Alto Evolution had broken their contract to employ him.  

Sergio Bertocchi is adamant the trucks are registered in his name and he had only leased them to the team and reasons he only hijacked the vehicle because he was owed money and he didn’t believe he would be paid.

MCN spoke with Sergio Bertocchi in Misano who revealed he had received 70 per cent of the payment for the lease of the trucks and 30 per cent was still outstanding.

He also explained he had a three year contract to remain part of the team which they have broken.

He later issued his own statement giving his version of events in full – see below.

Misano, June 14th 2007

SERGIO BERTOCCHI AND ALTO EVOLUTION

The following is to clarify the position regarding Sergio Bertocchi in relation to the numerous articles that have appeared in the press about my person in the last few days.

Through the press I have been accused of theft of a truck and abduction of a person. These are serious crimes, for which charges have been issued in Belgium by the driver of the truck, a certain Davide Esina, clearly on orders from Walter Tommasi, the owner of Team Alto Evolution. I quite simply retrieved an asset that belongs to me and which is still registered in my name, just like all the other vehicles used by Team Alto Evolution.

I was aware that I ran the risk of being charged for arbitrarily carrying out my decision, but I wanted to protect myself in the face of non-payment by those people with whom I had stipulated a preliminary agreement for the transfer of my team with which I was taking part in the World Superbike Championship.

In August 2006 I signed a preliminary contract with Mr Walter Tommasi. In this pre-contract it was established that I was to have relinquished my team with its structures and vehicles, receiving a payment of €200,000 in bills of exchange to be cashed on a monthly basis starting from October 2006. Unfortunately some of these have remained unpaid.

The sum agreed was very little in relation to the real value of the assets since the team was to have been called Team Bertocchi, and I was to have remained within the team on the payroll as manager for a period of three years. All this was the subject of the pre-contract. For seven months I asked Mr Tommasi to proceed with the stipulation of the definitive contract but the reply was always “Yes, don’t worry, we’ll do it”.

Trusting him, I worked all last winter to prepare the new Honda bikes, helped by the fact that as I am well-known in this environment I was given everything. I clearly did not know that a large part of the material acquired was not paid for. I learnt this when the suppliers started to call me to ask about the situation. In March I asked for explanations from Mr Tommasi, but the rather arrogant reply was that it was none of my business and that I should concentrate on doing my job. Obviously as I had a good name to protect in this environment I insisted a number of times on this matter.

After the Donington round Mr Tommasi informed me that he had sold 50 per cent of the team to a British company and that this company no longer had any need for my collaboration and that of chief mechanic Fabio Abbrescia. We were to all intents and purposes shown the door after being thanked, perhaps rather mockingly, for the work we had done so far.

Subsequently I learnt that the sale to the British company had never happened and that Mr Tommasi had not relinquished control.

In the meantime, from being sure that I had a good job for a further three years, I found myself with almost nothing in my hands. I tried to convince Mr Tommasi to go back on his decision but it was not possible.

In the meantime, as already mentioned, the last bills of exchange went unpaid and I learnt that the team was overloaded with debts.

Of course Mr Tommasi, who in the meantime had vanished, transferring amongst other things the workshop in Trieste to Lucca, clearly did not even consider either stipulating a definitive contract or drawing up the transfer of ownership of the vehicles, which as a result remained registered in my name and which obviously left me responsible for any debts.

It was out of concern that Mr Tommasi would be responsible for the disappearance of everything else that I decided to retrieve my truck.

I recovered the truck, as I reported to the Judicial Authorities, while the driver was at the petrol-station cash desk paying for fuel. This was done without the abduction of anyone, in total contrast to the declarations made by Mr Tommasi and Esina the driver, and for this reason I have filed a charge for defamation.

Realising that inside the truck there were assets belonging exclusively to Mr Tommasi I immediately arranged for a telegram to be sent to him in which, after informing him that any accord between us should be considered null and void due to his non-payment, I asked him to inform me where and when to let him have back all of his assets, which clearly were none of my concern.

I received no reply on this matter.

On the contrary ten or so days later I called Mr Tommasi who replied that he was no longer interested in his assets. He had found the right excuse to blame me for the fact that his team could no longer take part in the World Superbike Championship and as a result wash his hands of all his numerous creditors.
At this point I informed my lawyer of everything and he immediately told me to file charges against Walter Tommasi and Fabrizio Predonzani, his partner in this ‘business’.

Sergio Bertocchi