Motourage

FTR Moto is looking to build on an excellent start to the inaugural Moto2 World Championship by increasing its efforts and challenging for more race wins.

FIMMCO Speed Up Moto2 rider Andrea Iannone

With eight races gone and nine to go, the four FTR M210 machines sit in third, ninth, 12th and 14th places in the World Championship standings with an incredible 33 riders having already scored points. FTR’s innovative machine has taken two wins and four podium finishes so far.

“Considering nobody really knew how the series was going to evolve – apart from being ultra competitive – we’re more than happy with our return to this point of the season,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “With Andrea Iannone third in the Championship he obviously looks a good bet to challenge for the first ever Moto2 World title.”

Iannone rides the FIMMCO Speed Up Team’s FTR, along with Gabor Talmacsi, while Spaniard Alex Debon – runner-up in the Qatar opener – pilots the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team – with Czech Republic rider Karel Abraham on the Cardion AB Motoracing Team FTR machine.

Bones continued: “Talmacsi continues to show signs that he could win races. He’s had five out of eight finishes in the top 10, had an 11th and a 13th and the one non-finish so the consistency and quality is evident. Debon began the year in sensational fashion but has been really unfortunate.

“A small broken wire prevented him from qualifying on the front row in Jerez then he got tangled up in the multi-machine crash at the start of the race. He suffered a bad shoulder injury in the freak crash at Assen and has become frustrated so he will benefit from the four-week break more than most.

“In Abraham we have a rider who switched to our machine after three rounds and his last three results – of ninth, fourth and fifth respectively – suggest he could be on the brink of a first podium finish.”

The break in the Championship since the German race on July 18 has given FTR a chance to further develop the M210 in readiness for the second half of the year.

Bones concluded: “The feedback from our riders has been first class and we’re confident the changes we’re working on will further enhance the possibilities of more race wins and podiums – hopefully beginning with the next race at Brno a week on Sunday.”

FTR Moto is looking for more Moto2 success in this Sunday’s seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona, Spain with FIMMCO Speed Up Team rider Andrea Iannone looking to become the first rider to win three races in the inaugural year of the 600cc four-stroke class.

Iannone has taken the FTR M210 to wins in Italy and last Saturday in Holland and sits fourth in the World Championship, 33 points behind with 11 races to go. Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210 rider Alex Debon will race in his home GP despite suffering a shoulder injury at Assen last week.

Iannone’s FIMMCO Speed Up team-mate Gabor Talmacsi will be looking to improve on his 10th place in the World Championship while Czech Republic rider Karel Abraham continues to adapt to the M210 after his career-best ninth place finish at Assen on his Cardion AB Motoracing FTR machine.

FTR Moto's M210 Moto2 machine has been successful all over Europe in 2010

In addition to the Catalunya Grand Prix, FTR Moto has a presence at other major events this weekend – all in addition to retaining its focus on the CEV Spanish Championship and the Kev Coghlan - Monlau Competicion program and today’s test session at the new Motorland Aragon circuit.

The FTR M210 will make its debut at a British Superbike Championship round this weekend when Scottish rider Coghlan will perform demonstration laps on his Silverstone Grand Prix wild card machine at the Knockhill sixth round on Saturday and Sunday.

Also this weekend, the FTR Moto2 race machine will make an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the Dunlop Live Arena. The event, held at Goodwood Estate in Sussex, Eng, runs today through Sunday and features a historic-vehicle hill climb, expo and celebration of motorsports.

FTR’s Steve Bones:
“From heading into the first round of the World Championship in Qatar less than three months ago with three riders we’ve now got four riders on the M210 and two more teams in discussions about running the FTR machine.
We’ve become the first Moto2 constructor to contest the Isle of Man TT races and this weekend’s activities probably typify just how far the FTR Moto name has come in such a short space of time. Obviously we’d like further success at World Championship level but success in the Spanish Championship also remains crucial to our machine and rider development program.
We hope that the BSB fans enjoy the sight and sound of the FTR at Knockhill this weekend and I’m sure the first ever Moto2 machine to be present at the Goodwood Festival of Speed will attract a lot of attention. We also need to say thanks to our various partners for their support in all of these activities.”

FTR Moto and the FIMMCO Speed Up Team enjoyed a second win of the year in the inaugural Moto2 World Championship as sensational Italian rider Andrea Iannone repeated his victory of three weeks ago at Mugello, Italy by dominating today’s sixth round at Assen in Holland.

Iannone grabbed the lead a third of the way into the opening lap then extended his lead to 9.0s by lap 17 of the 24-lap race. He eventually crossed the finish line with a winning margin of 4.4s on the M210 and is now up to fourth place in the World Championship, just 33 points behind leader Toni Elias – runner-up at Assen today.

“The win today feels better than my win in Mugello,” said Iannone who, as he did in Mugello, started the race today from pole position. He added: “It was a tough race; I had to keep pushing hard to keep the lead. I have to thank the mechanics and Luca Boscoscuro. Now we must keep focused and do the same job next week at the Catalunya round.”

Czech Republic rider Karel Abraham enjoyed a career-best finish of ninth place after being locked in a battle for seventh on his Cardion AB Motoracing Team FTR M210. Abraham’s seven points for ninth moved him up six places in the Championship table to 22nd.

Iannone’s FIMMCO Speed Up team-mate Gabor Talmacsi bounced back from a heavy fall in qualifying on Friday to take his fifth points-scoring finish from six rounds with 13th place. Talmacsi sits joint ninth in the World Championship with luckless Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team rider Alex Debon who was unable to start after a qualifying crash on Friday.

FTR’s Steve Bones commented: “Andrea was sensational today, as he was in Mugello. All three of our machines that started finished in the points and Karel Abraham’s performance – in only his fourth race on the machine – was superb and he was the fastest rider through the speed trap at 163mph so we’re leaving Holland and heading to Spain with plenty of optimism.”

Fimmco Speed Up rider Andrea Iannone is celebrating a second pole position in three rounds as the Italian recorded the fastest time in qualifying for Saturday’s sixth round of the Moto2 World Championship at the Assen circuit in the north of Holland.

Iannone started from pole position then won the fourth round at Mugello in Italy three weeks ago and will be looking to do the same tomorrow after being fastest throughout practice and qualifying.

Fellow FTR rider Alex Debon was leading the qualifying session when he became involved in an incident with a slower rider. Debon fell from the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo M210 and the luckless Spaniard suffered a broken right collarbone. The crash rules Debon out of tomorrow’s Assen race even though he qualified in third place on the front row.

Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham continues to adapt to the FTR M210 after switching to the Buckingham, England-built chassis for the Le Mans, France third round last month. Abraham was constantly in the top 10 throughout practice and qualifying but a crash-ridden finish to qualifying left the Czech Republic rider in 12th place, completing the third row of the grid.

Iannone’s teammate Gabor Talmacsi – again a front-runner throughout practice – will start from 23rd place after crashing out of qualifying, escaping injury.

FTR’s Steve Bones
“We’re working hard with Andrea Iannone as he still has some set-up issues but his time in qualifying was impressive and I’m sure he’ll believe he can win tomorrow. It was a real shame for Alex Debon as he’d made some changes prior to the qualifying session and on his third lap out set the time that was eventually to be good enough for third place on the grid. Karel Abraham is impressing every week as he gets used to the FTR M210 and we’re hoping he can push for a top 10 finish tomorrow. After the injury to Alex Debon I’m pleased that Gabor Talmacsi is OK to race following his crash. His machine needs some attention but that can be easily fixed.”

FTR Moto suffered mixed fortunes with the five M210 machines in action at the fifth round of the Moto2 World Championship at the new Silverstone Circuit on Sunday, but Spaniard Alex Debon ensured the run of top-five finishes continued for the Buckingham, England-based chassis manufacturer. FTR machines have taken top-five finishes five times in 2010, and Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team rider Debon continued that run on the new, 3.665-mile Northamptonshire circuit – home of the British MotoGP round for the next five years.

Andrea Iannone – the runaway winner of the fourth round at Mugello, Italy a fortnight ago – battled to 12th place on his FIMMCO Speed Up Team machine while wild card rider Kev Coghlan finished 22nd on the FOGI Racing-backed FTR machine in the 18-lap race.

FIMMCO Speed Up's Gabor Talmacsi crashed out of a battle for ninth place at Silverstone

Gabor Talmacsi – in his 150th Grand Prix start – crashed out of the battle for ninth place with three laps to go, escaping injury, and luckless Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham also fell, on the last lap and while chasing 14th place. Abraham suffered a wrist injury in the crash.

“It’s been a frantic and tough weekend overall, but Alex Debon once again proved the potential of the FTR machine with a strong finish and, in the early stages, he showed signs of being able to challenge for the win,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “We’ve got three riders in the top 10 of the Championship, Kev Coghlan’s machine was fastest through the speed trap at Silverstone and the interest in the FTR Moto2 machine continues to grow so we’re all pretty happy. We’ve got Assen and Catalunya in quick succession now and the closeness of Moto2 is evident week in, week out. With that in mind the new class is quickly becoming not just a battle of constructors but it’s also pushing the teams to the limit in terms of their technical abilities. In the teams we’re involved with and the technical support they have we’re sure there’s a lot more excitement and success to come in 2010 for FTR.”

The British-built FTR Moto2 machines continue to impress in round two of the World Championship at Jerez in Spain, and FTR director Steve Bones believes there is much more to come from the Buckingham-based company’s machinery.

Alex Debon Impressed at Qatar aboard an FTR Moto machine

Alex Debon, riding the Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team machine finished runner-up in the opening round of the Championship in Qatar three weeks ago and Bones is confident Debon can maintain that form at his home race this weekend.

“Right now the focus is on a wide variety of areas including an improvement to the cooling system, testing the latest swing arm options we now have, improving the balance of the machine for the Jerez circuit and ensuring we get the maximum from the rear Dunlop tire in Sunday’s race,” said Bones.

He continued: “The chassis is clearly working well but we need to continue the development with Alex and his team in the direction they advise. Everything remains very new still so we never know what problems we will encounter as we try to get the machine working in the best possible manner at any given race track.”

Iannone and Talmasci showed promise during Jerez Free Practice today

FTR’s other two machines, running under the Fimmco Speed Up Team banner with riders Gabor Talmasci and Andrea Iannone, continued their improvement on Friday at Jerez and Bones believes they should be able to challenge for honors very soon.

Bones reported: “The Speed Up guys simply didn’t get the same amount of winter testing as many of the other teams but Gabor showed his ability with a fighting ninth place in Qatar and I’m sure he’ll be at the sharp end of races soon.  Andrea is still getting up to speed with the four-stroke machinery characteristics but he’s a Grand Prix winner and I’m certain that will begin to show again soon.”

Debon was fastest in Friday’s opening free practice at Jerez with Talmasci second. Iannone ended the day in 27th place in the 42-strong entry despite running off the circuit during the session.

FTR Moto will make its World Championship debut in Qatar on Sunday in the opening round of the inaugural Moto2 Grand Prix Championship.

The FTR Moto 2010 machine will be used by Motor Sport 69 Team rider Alex Debon and the Speed Up Team riders Gabor Talmasci and Andrea Iannone.

“It’s more than a year since this project began for us so to actually see our machines on the grid will definitely offer a sense of achievement,” said FTR director Steve Bones. “We’ve worked very closely with Alex Debon throughout testing and despite the collarbone fracture he suffered in February and subsequent surgery he’s very optimistic.

Perennial 250 rider Alex Debon will make his Moto2 debut on an FTR Moto machine in Qatar

“Alex has worked well with the Ohlins staff and his own technical team and can clearly see a lot of potential in our M210 chassis. With the Speed Up Team the development during testing has been more in their own direction and they’ve also made good progress.

“We know there will be a lot of attention on the results of the first ever Moto2 race in Qatar but we’re also aware that the World Championship is over 17 rounds and over eight months and I’m sure there will be a lot of twists and turns during that period.”

FTR Moto will also have machinery contesting the Spanish CEV Buckler Moto2 Championship in 2010 and is in the final stages of planning for a debut in the Isle of Man TT Races and the Senior TT race on Friday June 11.

Bones concluded: “From an initial plan to initially join the World Championship we’re happy with the growing interest in the FTR Moto brand and from the Grand Prix machine to the trackday machine we’re all pretty positive about 2010.”

FTR Moto will supply machinery to the Motor Sport 69 Team of Spanish rider Alex Debon for his campaign in the inaugural Moto2 World Championship in 2010. After concluding negotiations with Buckingham-based FTR Moto yesterday, Debon announced he will race the M210 machine from FTR in the 17-round series, which gets under way in Qatar on April 11

“We’re extremely happy for Alex to be racing our machine in 2010,” said FTR director Steve Bones. “He has proven himself both as a racer and a development rider in recent years, and his experience will be invaluable in ensuring the FTR M210 remains at the head of the field in the new Moto2 World Championship.”

The relationship between FTR and the Motor Sport 69 Team will also rekindle the technical relationship between FTR and former KTM Grand Prix engineer Xavier Soldevila who will work as Debon’s crew chief and development engineer during 2010.

Perennial 250 rider Alex Debon will make his Moto2 debut on an FTR Moto machine in 2010

Debon, who took a career-best finish of fourth place in the 250cc World Championship in 2008, winning the French and German Grands Prix, said: “I am delighted to have reached an agreement with FTR and also to carry out the development of the FTR machine under the supervision of Xavi Soldevila.

“We also have great sponsors in Aeroport de Castello and the engineer’s school of Monlau Competition. Together we intend to fight for the World Championship and develop a winning machine as I did with the RSA in the 250cc class.”

Debon will test the FTR M210 for the first time at Jerez in Spain at the end of January.