Motourage

FTR Moto is hoping to get the 2011 Moto2 World Championship under way in the same manner as last year with a podium finish in Sunday night’s Qatar opening round.

Alex Debon took second in the inaugural Moto2 race last year at Losail

It was FTR-mounted Alex Debon finishing second a year ago under the lights of the Losail circuit – 15 miles outside the country’s capital of Doha. Now FTR heads into this year’s first round with 10 riders carrying the hopes of the Buckingham company.

Riding the unique M211 machines, BQR Team riders Esteve Rabat and Yonny Hernandez are joined in the same garage by Kenny Noyes with the American running with backing from GP Tech and FOGI Racing. Scottish youngster Kev Coghlan appears in the Debon-run Aeroport de Castello Team for his World Championship debut season.

The Italian IODA Racing Project operation fields Simone Corsi and Mattia Pasini on FTRs while the 2010 race-winning Speed Up squad have placed their hopes, and their M211s, in the hands of youngsters Pol Espargaro and Valentin Debise.

The Stop and Go Team has the second of the Hernandez brothers from Colombia, Santiago, paired with Thai tough guy Ratthapark Wilairot – back in action and all set for his FTR debut after a serious road traffic accident in early December while at home in Thailand.

“We had a really good time in our debut year last year,” recalled FTR’s Steve Bones. “But now it feels like we’re taking a big step forward. We’ve gone from four machines on the grid last year to 10 now, it’s exactly what we were hoping for – for the Grand Prix paddock to confirm its belief in our machine.

“We’ve made a lot of subtle changes and improved the machine for 2011 but it’s also thanks to the four riders we had last year that they were regularly on the pace and pushing our M210 to the maximum to ensure we received the very best and most accurate feedback.

“From those four riders – Alex Debon, Gabor Talmacsi, Karel Abraham and Andrea Iannone – all of them finished on the podium and two of them won races, and there were a handful of fastest laps and pole positions – the same again in 2011 is our initial target but we have to keep developing the M211 – the World title is what we ultimately want.”

IODA Project's Simone Corsi

FTR Moto will be represented by five teams running a total of 10 riders in the 2011 Moto2 World Championship, which gets under way in Qatar on Sunday, March 20.

Buckingham, England-based FTR has retained its relationship with two of the three teams from 2010 – Alex Debon’s Motor Sport 69 project and the Speed Up Team while the third 2010 partner, Karel Abraham’s Cardion Team, moves to the MotoGP class after Abraham won the season finale Moto2 race at Valencia in November.

The Motor Sport 69 Team is being managed by the now-retired Debon and features one rider, Scotsman Kev Coghlan. Speed Up has replaced its two 2010 riders with Spaniard Pol Espargaro and French youngster Valentin Debise.

The established BQR squad moves to FTR machinery with a three-rider lineup of Esteve Rabat, Yonny Hernandez and Kenny Noyes. Noyes runs under the Avintia STX banner in a team established by financial and technical partners GP Tech and FOGI Racing, the latter continuing its relationship with FTR after supporting Spanish Championship and GP wild card entries in 2010.

Giampiero Sacchi’s Italian IODA Project team features Simone Corsi and Mattia Pasini on FTR M211s while the Spanish SAG squad fields Colombian Santiago Hernandez and Ratthapark Wilairot.

“From our four riders of 2010 things have really moved on this winter and the level of interest in FTR Moto is exactly what we hoped for,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “The team partners we have for 2011 offer a variety of everything imaginable in racing, from experience to youth and from very well established teams to relatively new ones.

“In theory the 2011 Championship should offer more stability in terms of consistency from riders but from the winter testing it really is difficult to see any pattern emerging. We know from 2010 that the class can be unpredictable and that may well be the case once more.

“At the beginning of 2010 Alex Debon took his one and only podium finish in the first round while Speed up’s Andrea Iannone struggled to 19th place in Qatar then won three races. We still have interest from other teams for 2011 but, right now, everyone at FTR is really geared up for an exciting 2011 campaign.”

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.”

Santiago Hernandez tests in Valencia

FTR Moto will supply its M211 machinery to the Stop and Go Racing Team for this year’s Moto2 World Championship.

The SAG Team will field 18-year-old Colombian Santiago Hernandez and experienced 22-year-old Thai rider Ratthapark Wilairot in what promises to be an exciting 37-rider battle.

Hernandez is entering his first full season of World Championship competition having competed in the CEV Spanish Championship in 2010. He made his Grand Prix debut in the inaugural Aragon World Championship round last September, qualifying in 31st place and finishing 23rd.

Team owner Eduardo Perales continues to nurture the career of Wilairot, now entering a sixth season of World Championship competition. But Wilairot has been forced to battle back to fitness after a serious road accident in his home country two months ago left him with career-threatening injuries.

Wilairot was given clearance last week to race in 2011 and will resume his 2011 preparations at the Jerez test on March 4-6.

“We’ve been speaking with Edu Perales for about 18 months now,” explained FTR’s Steve Bones. “So I’m pleased that we are finally working with him and his exciting 2011 SAG line-up of Ratthapark Wilairot and Hernandez. The test at Valencia last week could have gone better for Santi, but it’s very early days in terms of the 2011 Championship preparations and also the career of an exciting prospect like Santi.”

Bones added, “The initial feedback from the team regarding the M211 is very positive and we’re really pleased that Ratthapark Wilairot has been given the medical clearance to resume a career which continues to flourish. He had an impressive front row start at Assen last year and often displayed the potential that Edu believes can become World Championship success one day.”

FTR Moto has joined the largest team in the 2011 Moto2 World Championship after concluding an agreement with the BQR Team that will field Esteve Rabat, Yonny Hernandez and Kenny Noyes.

Rabat, from Spain, and Hernandez, from Colombia, will run FTR M211s under the Blusens STX banner, while American Noyes will be in the colors of Avintia STX. The Noyes operation, confirmed recently, also includes backing from American organization GP Tech and from Canadian team, FOGI Racing.

Kenny Noyes

Rabat moves into Moto2 after finishing sixth in last year’s 125cc World Championship. The 21-year-old has taken three podium finishes in his career since graduating from the Dorna MotoGP Academy.

Hernandez finished 21st in the 2010 Moto2 World Championship, but the spectacular 22-year-old was enjoying just his second full year of road racing after a successful supermoto career in Colombia.

Barcelona-based American Noyes, 31, was a top competitor in the CEV Buckler Spanish Championship’s Formula Extreme class and raced for actor Antonio Banderas’ Moto2 team in 2010, grabbing pole position for the French Grand Prix and twice finished in the top 10, completing the Championship in 24th place. Banderas’ team pulled out of Moto2 last November citing a falling out with its sponsor,sponsor menswear brand Jack & Jones. For 2011, the BQR team’s sponsors include consumer electronic products company Blusens, STX global courier and logistics and Avintia, a Spanish construction project specialist.

FTR director Steve Bones:
“Team Director Raul Romero has done a great job of getting the whole package together for 2011. It’s going to be a busy pit garage – hopefully a successful one.

“This is the team’s 14th year in the World Championship so there’s a real stability there and this will be the sixth year of Blusens sponsorship so the foundations are firmly laid for the team to step up and challenge for the World Championship.

“The three riders offer excitement for all of us at FTR with Rabat being totally new, Hernandez and his “sideways” style and Noyes who showed lots of promise in his debut World Championship year.

“It’s also pleasing to see the confidence in FTR, both from Raul and everyone at BQR and from Geoff Maloney at GP Tech and Angus Borland of FOGI Racing for their support of the Noyes project.”

FTR Moto and the Italian Speed Up Team will challenge for the 2011 Moto2 World Championship with the youthful lineup of 19-year-old Spaniard Pol Espargaro and 18-year-old French prospect Valentin Debise.

With three race wins and a total of nine podiums in 2010, the Speed Up Team/FTR combination was only topped by the World Championship-winning Gresini Team to the unofficial title of most successful team in the inaugural Moto2 season.

Speed Up will field two M211s with Espargaro ready to head the team’s hopes in the 600cc four-stroke series. The rider from Granollers, near Montmelo, home of Circuit de Catalunya, moves into Moto2 having finished third in last year’s 125cc World Championship.

Espargaro also arrives in Moto2 after an exceptional display in 2010 where he finished on the podium in 12 of the 17 races and suffered just one non-finish. He has five Grand Prix wins to his name and a total of 21 podium finishes.

In Debise, Speed Up’s team manager Luca Boscoscuro believes there is a rider with huge potential and is optimistic that the young Frenchman will progress further in 2011 on the FTR machine.

“We’re really keen to be able to continue the successful partnership with Luca Boscoscuro and the Speed Up Team,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “What they did in 2010 was exceptional and we’re sure that they have everything needed to challenge at the front again in 2011.

“With Pol Espargaro they should be able to battle for podiums immediately while Valentin Debise is more of an unknown quantity but will be fully armed with the best equipment and technical staff so we’re hoping he will start to fulfill some of his potential.

“Extending the relationship with the Speed Up team’s technical staff is also important for the development of our new chassis and we’re thankful to the team for their 2010 efforts, feedback and data that has helped us improve the FTR Moto2 machine extensively for 2011.”

FTR Moto is teaming up with the new Ioda Racing Project Team for the 2011 Moto2 campaign with Simone Corsi and Mattia Pasini preparing to challenge for the Moto2 World Championship on their FTR M211s. The all-Italian team is the brainchild of former Aprilia, Derbi, Gilera and Piaggio Group manager Giampiero Sacchi and in Pasini and Corsi has two riders capable of success.

Pasini has 10 grand prix wins in the 125cc and 250cc classes and a total of 26 podiums while Corsi has taken five 125cc wins and 14 podium finishes in 125 and Moto2 and took fifth place in the inaugural Moto2 World Championship last year – taking best race finishes of third place at Le Mans in France and at the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.

Sacchi himself has masterminded numerous world championship victories and nurtured young riders such as Loris Capirossi, Max Biaggi, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.

“The experience of Giampiero Sacchi is something we are keen to tap into and working alongside him in 2011 is something to look forward to,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “With Mattia Pasini and Simone Corsi I’d say the new Ioda Racing Project Team has a strong a rider line-up as any team in the 2011 Championship. Corsi was especially consistent in the 2010 championship; he took seven finishes inside the top five and only failed to score points in two of the 17 races. At 23 years of age he’s also experienced enough now to challenge for the title.

“In Pasini, the team has an exceptional talent. He has had his ups and downs in the past but he rode most of 2010 with a shoulder injury and had surgery in December to sort that out so hopefully there’ll be a fully fit and determined Mattia Pasini in Qatar for the first race in mid March.”

FTR Moto and the Monlau Competicion Team’s Kev Coghlan know they must win Sunday’s seventh and final round of the CEV Buckler Moto2 Spanish Championship to stand any chance of claiming the 2010 title.

Coghlan sits 21 points behind series leader Carmelo Morales with one race remaining and needs to win at Jerez and hope Morales fails to score points in the season finale

Coghlan won at Albacete in May and Aragon in July but was disqualified after his round-three victory at Jerez in June after a technical infringement with his Honda motor.

“We’ve had a bit of an up and down year but for a first season in Moto2 I think we’ve achieved more than we maybe expected,” said Coghlan. “I’ll be firmly head down from Friday morning and working towards the win on Sunday for FTR and the Monlau Team.”

One year after the FTR Moto2 machine’s Spanish Championship debut, FTR’s Steve Bones believes the performance of the M210 and its aerodynamics package have ensured Coghlan and the Monlau – Joe Darcey joint operation have remained competitive throughout 2010.

“Kev had a good opening sixth place at Catalunya on the M209 then once he got the M210 he won the next three races,” recalled Bones. “He’s finished fourth and fifth since so the consistency of Kev, the FTR M210 along with the Honda motor and Michelin tires is proven.

“At Jerez we just want to stay focused on repeating Kev’s victory of June this year and see if it is enough to win the Championship – strange things tend to happen in final rounds!”

Team Joe Darcey Monlau Competicion’s Kev Coghlan took fifth place in Sunday’s sixth and penultimate round of the CEV Buckler Spanish Moto2 Championship at the Valencia circuit to retain second place in the series.

Coghlan qualified in sixth  on the FTR M210 and held that position for most of the 19-lap thriller before setting his fastest lap on lap 17 to move ahead of Spaniard Xavier Fores and secure a fifth place finish, ending the race just 3.1s behind winner Carmelo Morales.

Coghlan’s title rival Morales grabbed the lead and the victory from Axel Pons on the last lap to extend his Championship lead to 21 points over Coghlan heading into next Sunday’s seventh and final round at Jerez.

“It was a tough weekend for us,” admitted Coghlan. “But to be in the top five in today’s race and stay second in the Championship gives us plenty to fight for in next week’s final race.”

Italian Federico D’Annunzio took 11th place on the last lap on his FTR while Russian Alexey Ivanov – having qualified in 25th place – was up to 18th before being forced to retire on the 11th lap.

“Coming into the weekend we were very much focused on challenging for the win,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “In the end Kev’s finished just three seconds away from winning so he was on the pace but in the end was forced to settle for fifth.

“He also went faster in the race than he did in qualifying so the signs from Kev and the M210 continue to be positive. He won the Jerez race earlier in the year on the M210 so we’ll be hoping for a repeat performance next Sunday.”

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.”