Michel Fabrizio and fellow Italian Ayrton Badovini.

BMW Motorrad Italia has completed its rider line-up for next year's Superbike World Championship, with the signing of Michel Fabrizio to partner fellow Italian Ayrton Badovini on the BMW S1000RR.

A former top-three WSBK championship finisher, 27-year-old Fabrizio brings a wealth of experience to the all-Italian team, having spent several seasons in the top flight riding for different manufacturers in various international championships, including Superstock, Supersport and six consecutive years in World Superbikes.

Thanks to this experience he knows all the circuits on the world championship calendar. His international racing career began in 2002 with his first season in MotoGP on a Gilera 125. The following year, on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 - his debut with a four-stroke engine - he won the Superstock Championship.

In 2005, riding a Honda, he participated in the World Supersport Championship and then made his debut in the World Superbike Championship one year later. In 2007, he rode for Honda in World Superbikes and also had the opportunity to ride for the same brand in MotoGP. In 2009, with the Ducati Xerox Team, Michel finished the season in third place, collecting 15 podiums and three race wins along the way.

In 2010, with one victory, one second and four third places he earned 195 points and was eighth in the standings at the end of the season. This year, with the Suzuki Alstare team he collected 152 points and finished 12th overall, just two places behind Ayrton Badovini.

Michel was born in Frascati, near Rome, on September 17, 1984 and is married with two children. Besides his passion for riding bikes, he is an avid golfer. Commenting on his signing and his plans for 2012, Michel said: "I am very pleased with the signing of this contract and I hope to repay the trust that the team has shown in me. I am happy to be working again with people that were part of my team for three years. This will provide a stable environment that will help me do well. I am very motivated and ready to play my part next season because I know that the project is ambitious and the team is good."