Lorenzo Zanetti is confirmed to make a return to the World Superbike Championship this weekend at Imola aboard a fifth Ducati Panigale V4 R entry.

The experienced 31-year-old racer competed in a full season of WorldSBK on a PATA Racing Ducati in 2012, where he achieved a best finish of eighth position at the Italian venue.

Indeed, Imola has proven to be a happy hunting ground for Zanetti as the scene of his sole World Supersport Championship win in 2014, while he has been a two-time podium winner at his home venue too.

With the new dominant Ducati Panigale V4 R at his disposal as prepared by the Motocorsa Racing, Zanetti believes he can make an impression on his big stage return.

“I’m very pleased to return to the World Superbike championship. It hasn’t been easy putting all the pieces of this project together, but we’ve all worked hard, and in the end, we’ve achieved our goal. As well as Lorenzo Mauri I must thanks Ducati and Pirelli for having helped us make this Imola wildcard possible.

“The bike is making its debut and the team will be able to count on technical support from Ducati Corse. So, I hope to be able to do well, up against the world championship riders. I’m not setting myself any specific goals, only to do my best and enjoy it as much as possible.”

He bolsters the Ducati contingent to five riders in a 19-strong entry list alongside the official Aruba.it entries of Alvaro Bautista and Chaz Davies, plus the privateer bikes of Michael Ruben Rinaldi on the BARNI machine and the Go Eleven bike of Eugene Laverty.