Mark Aitchison has been a regular in the World Superbike paddock since 2007, finishing fifth overall in his first season of Superstock 1000 competition. He made the transition to the fiercely-competitive World Supersport field where he remained for three seasons, and then stepped into the Superbike category for seasons 2011 and 2012.

2013 looked set to provide a new challenge in the British Superbike Championship, before the team he signed for announced an eleventh-hour withdrawal due to its owner’s illness. Aitchison immediately set about sourcing other opportunities for 2013, and was quickly secured by the somewhat controversial Effenbert Liberty squad to lead their re-entry into World Superbikes aboard the Ducati 1098R.

Aitchison knows the challenge of developing the bike with a brand new team will be a tough one, but is up to the task. The team’s first race weekend looked lean on paper – Aitchison did not finish the opening race and was a non-starter in the second – but behind the scenes, the wheels of change are in motion.

CycleOnline.com.au caught up with Aitchison to talk about his 2013 season to date.

Mark Aitchison is back on track in 2013 with World Superbike team Effenbert Liberty. Image: Filipo Mingardi.

You had a competitive ride locked in for the BSB but as we know that didn’t eventuate due to the team owner’s illness. It must have been tough to have such well-laid plans thrown out so close to the start of the racing season?

It’s been a whirlwind really, I’ve been going through the motions, trying to make things happen. We had a lot of things go really wrong at the start of the year which hasn’t made it an easy start. Losing my spot with the original team was quite a big letdown. To be fair there wasn’t much warning at all. Jakub Smrz and I were both there and ready to race what would have been a competitive bike and it all fell over. It’s not something you could ever really foresee, the circumstances are obviously unfortunate but as a result I was left without anything concrete for the year ahead.

The pieces of the puzzle fell into place fairly quickly with your new World Superbike deal. How did the the signing with Effenbert Liberty come about?

The team confirmed its entry with Dorna, the World Superbike promoter, about two weeks prior to Aragon. One they knew they had a spot on the grid I went to meet with them straight away. We began talking and the contract wasn’t signed until about a week before the race. It was a fairly rushed deal. There was very little time and no testing at all. It was a big step to take, not knowing the team or the bike.

Did you think you would find yourself back on the World Superbike grid in 2013 after the season had already begun?

I didn’t know the opportunity was there, so no. It was exciting, and good to know I’d be back on the world stage. The guys wanted me there, wanted me to be involved and work with them on the bike. It was quite nice to be welcome so warmly. Also I have a good relationship with a lot of people in the World Superbike paddock, and it’s good to be back in that environment.

You faced a fairly big challenge in your first race weekend with the team. How did you go about preparing for the event and how do you think you fared?

It was a really big step. No one at the team really knew each other either. It’s an all-new bunch of guys and everyone was learning as we went along. I guess that is what happens when you throw something together so quickly. We just need time to work it all out. We had a few problems on race day – a general lack of communication and just a few things related to preparing the bike. In the end we weren’t able to achieve a finish which was a little disappointing. As bad as it was in Aragon I think we’ve moved forward a lot. A lot of work has been done at the team factory, and I’ve been travelling regularly to make sure these details are taken care of. We’ve changed some of the staff and some of the structure so that it works better for the future.

You had no test time on the bike and as I understand very little or next to no experience racing a Ducati. How did you manage such a challenge?

I’ve had zero experience on the Ducati. It really is a very different motorbike, just in the way the twin-cylinder works in relation to the four-cylinder. Last year I rode the Aprilia which was a V4, and previous to that I’d only ridden an inline four. It forced me to change my riding style a lot and really try to adapt quickly to what it was asking of me. I need more time on the bike to understand it. That extra seat time is really the only way I can improve.

Have you or your team set any particular short or long term goals for the season ahead?

In the short term we are just wanting to move forwards – to show progression is the goal. After mid-year we’d really like to crack on with it. We know this is a good bike. If we get the structure of the team right and the elements right in the background then we’ll be happy and we can start to push through and get results on Sunday. It’s a very good bike, we’ve seen that with [Carlos] Checa. We have a slightly different package but at the end of the day there’s not too much difference. If we can make inroads during the first-half of the season then I don’t see why we can’t challenge for some really good race results.

There was a fair bit of controversy surrounding the team after the 2012 season. How did you work through the negativity to decide that this was the right choice of ride for you?

Look there probably is quite a bit of negativity after last year and to be honest it’s none of my business. That was from last year, the team had a lot of issues, which we’ve gone into. There’s no point dwelling on them. I’m making the most of each and every race and each weekend is a new beginning. Mario [team owner] has told me he wants to build the team up to earn more respect in the paddock, to focus on a longer term project – that’s his goal. There is some bad blood out there but everyone in this team is brand new. It’s a fresh start.