Motourage

FTR Moto will supply its Moto2 machinery to Alex Debon and his Motor Sport 69 team for a second successive year as the tough Spanish rider steps down from his racing career to take over management of the team in 2011. Debon will have young Scottish rider Kev Coghlan representing the team aboard the innovative M211 in this year’s Moto2 World Championship, starting in Qatar on March 20.

FTR and Debon made an instant impact in the 2010 inaugural Moto2 Championship as the Spanish ace finished runner-up in last year’s opening round, also at the Losail circuit near Doha, Qatar. Debon went on to finish 16th in the Championship after two fifth places – at Silverstone, GB and Sepang, Malaysia – and four other top 10 finishes. A qualifying session crash at Assen in Holland led to a badly injured shoulder and ultimately prevented his progress and a repeat of his Qatar result. At the end of the 2010 season, Debon announced his plan to retire.

In Coghlan, Debon has signed a rider who won the 2009 European Supersport and CEV Buckler Spanish Supersport championships and last year finished third in the Spanish Moto2 Championship. The 22-year-old is a Dorna MotoGP Academy graduate and put in some sensational displays during a wild card appearance at Aragon last September. He was second and fourth fastest in two of the practice sessions before a fuel starvation problem ruled him out of the race on the opening lap.

“We’re really pleased to be continuing our association with Alex Debon,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “He achieved out very first podium as a manufacturer and in our very first World Championship race.

“With Kev, Alex has a really promising talent. We’ve watched Kev since our early days of negotiation with Miguel Gomez and the Joe Darcey Team in the Spanish Championship in 2009 and then worked with him last year in the CEV Spanish Championship.

“It certainly won’t be easy for Kev in his first full World Championship year but he has a good mentor in Alex. Kev is really pleased with the M211 in the tests so far so I’m sure we’ve a good base to work from with him.”

FTR Moto is looking to close the inaugural Moto2 World Championship in successful fashion with victory in this weekend’s 17th and final round at Valencia in Spain.

Leading FTR M210 rider Andrea Iannone, in the FIMMCO Speed Up Team colors, could clinch second place in the Championship if he can overcome a six-point deficit to Julian Simon in Sunday’s 27-lap race at the 2.49-mile circuit.

FIMMCO Speedup Moto2 rider Andrea Iannone

Iannone has three race wins this year – at Mugello, Assen and Aragon – and has taken five pole positions, two more than any other rider. The 21-year-old Italian has also recorded the fastest lap of six of the 16 races so far.

“Andrea has been a stand-out rider in 2010 and has achieved far more than anyone anticipated,” admitted FTR’s Steve Bones. “When he rode a four-stroke for the first time – in a Spanish Championship race at Valencia at the end of last year – he really looked like he would take a long time to adapt. Thankfully he quickly got used to the FTR M210 and has been devastating at times.”

Iannone’s teammate Gabor Talmacsi will be looking to protect his sixth place in the Championship at Valencia after the Hungarian scooped a first pole position in Portugal last week and finished the race in eighth place.

Karel Abraham, riding the Cardion AB Motoracing Team M210 for the final time before moving to the MotoGP class, can climb as many as five place in the Championship if results were to go his way on Sunday at Valencia – a circuit where he took a 250cc career-best sixth place finish last year.

Luckless Alex Debon and his Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team will miss this weekend’s final round after Debon suffered a fractured right collarbone during practice at Estoril last week.

“The final round promises to throw up some spectacular action with a lot of riders wanting to end the Championship on a high, some are still to confirm a place for 2011 so therefore keen to impress and most are just looking for some final round glory,” added Bones.

“Since Estoril we’ve been moving forward with our own 2011 plans and had some really interesting track time with potential new riders at Aragon on Monday. In all we’re pretty confident about next year’s program with the much-improved M211.”

FTR Moto took two more top-10 finishes in an action-packed 16th round of the Moto2 World Championship at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal on Sunday.

Gabor Talmacsi took his first pole of the season in Portugal

Gabor Talmacsi, on the FIMMCO Speed Up Team machine, finished in eighth place after taking his first pole position of the year and the sixth for FTR Moto – after two days of wet practice on Friday and Saturday led to a dry race.

Karel Abraham worked his way through from 22nd place on the grid and the Cardion AB Motoracing Team M210 rider finished in 10th place after making a trademark burst in the second half of the 26-lap race and finishing just four seconds behind the race winner.

Hard-charging Andrea Iannone looked set for a fourth win of the year as he battled through from 34th place on row nine of the grid to hold fourth place with six laps to go – after a succession of fastest laps for the Italian. But the luckless Iannone crashed out on the FIMMCO Speed Up Team machine at the start of lap 20 to end his challenge. He remounted to finish the race in 21st place. Iannone remains third in the World Championship with Talmacsi moving up to sixth. Abraham sits in 14th with Debon 15th.

Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210 rider Alex Debon was a non starter at Estoril after the Spanish rider crashed in Saturday’s free practice and fractured his right collarbone.

“The lack of dry practice made for an interesting race and it looked like Andrea Iannone was going to pull off a fantastic victory at one point but it wasn’t to be,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “Seeing Gabor Talmacsi get pole position then lead the race was superb and the battle for third on the last couple of laps could have easily gone a different way and Talmacsi and Karel Abraham could have been in contention for podium finishes.

“The weekend was obviously a disappointing one for Alex Debon and we wish him well in his recovery. We’re all looking forward to Valencia next weekend now and hopefully a victorious finish to the 2010 Championship.”

FTR Moto is looking to add to its 2010 success with the M210 machine when the Moto2 World Championship reaches its 16th and penultimate round at the Estoril Circuit in Portugal on Sunday.

FTR is also aiming to take a step towards its target of all four permanent riders finishing in the top 10 of the Championship. At present Andrea Iannone sits in third place, two points adrift of second place, his teammate, Gabor Talmacsi, is seventh while Alex Debon is 13th and Karel Abraham 15th – the latter just 13 points behind 10th place.

FIMMCO Speed Up's Gabor Talmacsi

All arrive in Portugal after mixed fortunes in the three-race tour to Japan, Malaysia and Australia. Iannone continued his 2010 success with podium finishes in Sepang and Phillip Island on his FIMMCO Speed Up M210. Debon, on the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210, returned to some consistency with top 10 finishes in all three of the races with a best of fifth place in Malaysia. Abraham enjoyed a career-best and spectacular finish of third place in Japan on the Cardion AB Motoracing Team M210 and is now aiming to better that result in the final two rounds of 2010 – at Estoril and Valencia – before the Czech Republic rider moves to the MotoGP class in 2011. Gabor Talmacsi, on the second FIMMCO Speed Up M210 will be looking to recapture his consistency at the 2.597-mile Estoril venue after failing to score in the past three rounds.

“We’ve worked with the teams since the last round in Australia and are optimistic that we can get them all into the top 10 of the Championship by Sunday evening in Valencia on November 7,” said FTR’s Steve Bones.  “With the improvements to the M210 in recent weeks and the efforts of the teams and riders it’s left us all really looking forward to these final two rounds. The Estoril and Valencia events will also include a lot of talking about 2011 plans.

“We’ve had interest from around half a dozen teams but we’re also keen to retain the highest level of support and, for that reason, we may well have to limit the number of FTR M211s on the grid.”

FTR Moto goes in search of a tenth podium finish of the year in Sunday’s 15th round of the Moto2 World Championship at the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia.

The firm’s M210 machine has taken three wins in 2010, and its leading rider of the four permanent FTR entries, Andrea Iannone, is just five points behind Spanish rider Julian Simon in the battle for second place in the inaugural World Championship.

Andrea Iannone is five points behind Julian Simon in the battle for second place in Moto2

Iannone, on the FIMMCO Speed Up Team’s M210, took third place in last Sunday’s Malaysian round and with three rounds remaining will be looking to add to his hat-trick of race wins and secure the World Championship runner-up position.

Iannone’s FIMMCO Speed Up team-mate Gabor Talmacsi currently sits in seventh place in the Championship and the Hungarian is looking to improve on a season-best third place in the Aragon round four weeks ago.

Alex Debon returned to form in Malaysia on the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210 with fifth place – the kind of form which took the determined Spaniard to a podium finish with second place in the opening round in Qatar in April.

After a career-best finish of third in Japan two weeks ago, Karel Abraham fought through to a solid sixth place in Malaysia last Sunday and will be hoping to continue that form at Phillip Island. Abraham, on the Cardion AB Motoracing Team M210, also qualified in seventh place in Malaysia – another career-best performance from the Czech Republic rider.

“We’ve achieved a lot more than we expected in out debut year,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “But the successes from our four regular riders and their respective teams have just left us wanting more and more success.

“Work on the 2011 machine is well under way but we’re still learning about the challenges each circuit offers and Phillip Island is certainly unique with its coastal position and changing temperatures and weather conditions. This weekend offers a fascinating insight once more into the performance of the M210 on a new circuit.”

FTR Moto continued its run of podium finishes and point-scoring successes in the Moto2 World Championship as all of the FTR M210 finishers did so in top six places in Sunday’s 14th round at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia.

Andrea Iannone held off Toni Elias for the first half of yesterday's Moto2 contest

Three-time 2010 race winner Andrea Iannone took his sixth podium finish of the year as the FIMMCO Speed Up Team rider took third place after leading for eight of the 19 laps and twice setting a new lap record around the 3.44-mile circuit. Iannone’s points haul has left him just five points adrift of second place in the Championship.

Alex Debon, on the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210, bounced back from a crash in qualifying to celebrate his 150th Grand Prix race start. Debon came from 10th place on the 39-strong grid to take fifth and equal his second best finish of the year. The result moves the Spaniard into 11th place in the Championship.

Following on from a sensational podium finish in Japan last week, Czech Republic rider Karel Abraham was again in impressive form at Sepang as the Cardion AB Motoracing Team rider battled through the field to take sixth place on his M210, moving him into 13th place in the Championship.

Iannone’s FIMMCO Speed Up team mate Gabor Talmacsi was in 11th place and heading for a top 10 finish when he slid off without injury with five laps remaining, recording only his second non-finish of the year. Talmacsi sits in seventh place in the Championship with three races remaining – in Australia, Portugal and Spain.

“We made a big step forward with the M210 in Malaysia,” revealed FTR’s Steve Bones. “The results were very good but there was very little circuit data available and in the heat and humidity I’m pleased that the FTR chassis preserved the Dunlop tires and gave the riders the feeling they needed.”

Bones continued: “It’s really good to see the three FTR M210s in the top six and I’m sure Gabor Talmacsi could have been at least in the top 10 but for his small mistake. The chassis has certainly proven to be adaptable and user-friendly and – with Speed Up and FTR points combined – we’re only about 40 points off the lead of the Constructors’ Championship.

“I’d also like to congratulate Toni Elias and the Gresini Team for their 2010 success in clinching the inaugural Moto2 World Championship.”

FTR Moto is hoping to add to its 2010 success in the Moto2 World Championship at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia this weekend after Karel Abraham took third place at Motegi in Japan last Sunday to complete the achievement of all FTR M210 riders finishing on the podium in this year’s inaugural Championship.

Karel Abraham grabbed his first Moto2 podium last weekend at Motegi

Abraham’s third place came after a determined last lap by the Czech Republic rider on the Cardion AB Motoracing Team M210, passing Alex de Angelis to record a career-best third place and a first visit to a World Championship podium.

The FTR run of podium finishes began immediately, in the opening round, when Alex Debon secured runner-up place on the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210 in Qatar. The run was then enhanced with a mid-season brace of victories – in Italy and Holland – for the FIMMCO Speed Up Team’s Andrea Iannone.

Iannone then added a third victory at Aragon three weeks ago and his team-mate and fellow FTR M210 rider Gabor Talmacsi secured his first podium finish with third place, also at Aragon.

“We’re naturally really happy with the performance of all of the FTR riders this year, especially in a new championship where the opposition was difficult to gauge in the beginning,” said FTR’s Steve Bones.

He continued: “We’ve developed the M210 throughout the year and we believe that the changes have ensured the machine has always improved in the same, positive direction and the results would seem to confirm that pattern.”

“There are four races left in the Championship and I’d like to think the run of podium finishes can continue – along with the consistent performance of the M210. We’ve also got all four riders inside the top 15 of the World Championship now and we’ll be doing everything possible to ensure they stay there.”

Iannone sits third in the Championship with Talmacsi sixth, Debon 12th and Abraham up to 15th place after his Motegi success.

FTR Moto will field five M210 Moto2 machines in this weekend’s Motorland Aragon round of the Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix. The four regular FTR–mounted riders – Alex Debon, Andrea Iannone, Gabor Talmacsi and Karel Abraham – will be joined at Aragon by wild card entrant, CEV Buckler Spanish Championship Moto2 rider Kev Coghlan on the Monlau Competicion/Joe Darcey Team FTR machine.

“It’s the third time this year that we’ve been able to field five machines and after the last wild card outing of Jason DiSalvo at Indianapolis and his ninth place finish we’re hopeful of a strong showing from Kev and the team at Aragon,” said FTR’s Steve Bones.

Coghlan is second in the Spanish Moto2 Championship, just seven points off the lead, and is relishing the chance to tackle the World Championship competition and on a circuit where he won round four of the CEV Buckler Spanish series in July.

“I had a good run at Aragon two months ago and managed to lead the race from start to finish so I’m keen to get back there,” said Coghlan. “We run Michelins in the Spanish Championship and the World Championship is on Dunlops so we’ve a bit of work to do on set-up; but the guys can handle that OK.”

FIMMCO Speed Up's Andrea Ianonne

Andrea Iannone will be hoping this weekend’s 12th round of the World Championship can complete a hat-trick of wins in the new class, adding to his victories at Mugello, Italy and Assen, Holland in June.

Iannone is fourth in the World Championship, just nine points adrift of second place, while his FIMMCO Speed Up teammate Gabor Talmacsi sits in eighth place after a consistent campaign and just one non-finish on his M210.

Cardion AB Motoracing Team M210 rider Karel Abraham will be aiming to make up for the disappointment of missing the last two rounds while Spaniard Alex Debon and his Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team will be hoping for success on home soil after also missing the previous round at Misano due to injury.

Bones continued: “In addition to this being the 12th round of 17, there’s also a lot of focus now on 2011, and teams are well under way with their planning. We have a lot of interest from teams for 2011, and hopefully that will be complemented and endorsed by success in Sunday’s Aragon race.

“For Aragon – with a view to the final third of the 2010 World Championship – we have improvements to the M210 with a revised frame, new triple clamps and an interim fuel tank and seat unit all being supplied and tested and available to all of the FTR teams.”

FTR Moto is looking to add to its tally of podium finishes this year in this weekend’s 11th round of the Moto2 World Championship at the Misano circuit near Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic coast.

FTR is also hoping to add to the two race victories with its M210 and also to complement the 13 top six finishes so far in 2010 as a reduced line-up of three M210 riders embark on the San Marino round at Misano.

The Fimmco Speed Up Team’s Andrea Iannone and Gabor Talmacsi are joined by Cardion AB Motoracing Team M210 rider Karel Abraham but Spaniard Alex Debon, of the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team, will be missing after further injuring the shoulder he broke at Assen two months ago when Ukrainian Vladimir Ivanov took him out of last Sunday’s Indianapolis round.

Gabor Talmacsi

Talmacsi’s consistent point-scoring is matched only by series leader Toni Elias with Hungarian Talmacsi finishing in the top 10 in seven of the 10 races so far and having just one non finish, at Silverstone.

His team-mate Iannone – with six Grand Prix wins to his name – arrives from Indianapolis in confident mood after setting the fastest time in last Sunday’s American race, finishing fourth and knowing that only a qualifying crash robbed him of a potential third win of the year on the Fimmco Speed Up M210.

The concussion suffered in a crash at his home Czech Republic Grand Prix last month was sufficient to rule Karel Abraham out of the Indianapolis race last Sunday but the Cardion AB Motoracing Team rider is expected to return to action at Misano.

FTR’s Steve Bones continued: “I’m disappointed for Alex Debon as the crash last week and the one in Assen were not his fault. Hopefully he will be fit for the Aragon round in Spain in two weeks. The Speed Up guys have done a good job this year and last weekend put in a really impressive display.

“Andrea Iannone qualified on the front row for the 125cc race at Misano last year so we’d expect him to be on the pace and Gabor Talmacsi’s efforts so far this year deserve a podium finish which he will surely get very soon. We’re pleased Karel Abraham is feeling a lot better and hopefully able to go into Friday’s free practice at Misano in the kind of mood that brought him fourth place at Catalunya.”

FTR Moto recorded a fifth podium finish of the 2010 Moto2 World Championship as Andrea Iannone finished third on the FIMMCO Speed Up FTR M210 machine in round nine at Brno, Czech Republic on Sunday.

Iannone – starting from second place on the front row of the grid – made a poor start and was forced to battle back from seventh place on the opening lap, eventually taking the lead of the race on the sixth lap from fellow FTR M210 rider Alex Debon.

Yuki Takahashi and eventual race winner Toni Elias closed in and passed Iannone in the closing stages and Iannone was forced to settle for third place.

“Today was a difficult day,” said Iannone who moved into second place in the Championship standings. “I didn’t make a good start then eventually got to the front but the pace of Elias and Takahashi was too much for me in the end.”

Gabor Talmacsi – Iannone’s Speed Up teammate – fought his way through from 16th place on the grid to cross the finish line in a credible sixth place at the end of the 20-lap race, while Debon on the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210 finished in seventh.

Debon put in a spirited ride as he moved from 12th place on the opening lap to lead the race by lap five and eventually take his first podium finish since the British round at Silverstone two months ago. And the Spaniard’s progress was halted by a broken steering damper from the halfway stage of the race.

And there was no dream home race victory for promising Karel Abraham and his Cardion AB Motoracing Team FTR M210 as he was forced to miss the race following crashes in Friday’s practice and Saturday’s qualifying sessions. Abraham suffered minor injuries and mild concussion.

“Overall it’s great to see one of the M210s on the podium again although, at one point, I thought Iannone, Debon and Talmacsi were all heading for the victory.” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “With all three of our machines in the top seven, including Alex with a broken damper, and out of 39 starters I’m more than happy.”