Motourage

FTR Moto heads into Sunday’s second round of the Moto2 World Championship in Spain looking to capitalize on the Jerez circuit experience of much its 12-strong rider line-up.

Non-Spanish riders Kev Coghlan (Team Aeroport de Castello), Kenny Noyes (FOGI/GP Tech Team), Yonny Hernandez (Blusens-STX) and brother Santiago Hernandez (Stop and Go Team) are all graduates of the CEV Buckler Spanish Championship classes.

Esteve Rabat

Additionally, Spanish riders Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) and Pol Espargaro (HP Tuenti Speed Up Team) will both be keen to impress on their FTR M211 debuts in their home Grand Prix.

The IODA Racing Project’s Simone Corsi arrives in Spain after a sixth place finish in the opening round in Qatar two weeks ago, improving from 11th on the grid to take 10 World Championship points on his M211.

His luckless team-mate Mattia Pasini was one of eight riders to crash out of the opening round and the determined Italian will be keen to impress at Jerez – the circuit where, in 2006, he recorded the first of 11 pole positions in the 125cc World Championship. Pasini also climbed the podium at Jerez in 2008 after taking a runner-up finish in the 250cc race.

“We got the 2011 World Championship under way with four of our riders in the points but, as is always the case with racing and development, you always feel you can do better and hopefully that will be the case in Jerez this weekend,” said FTR’s Steve Bones.

He continued: “We began our Moto2 story as a constructor in Spain at the end of 2009 and with four Grands Prix there last year plus our Spanish Championship commitments it really does feel like home. Last year we felt like we had a possible race win on the cards at Jerez after Alex Debon showed tremendous pace in the practice sessions – all until a first lap crash.

“This year we are looking to the strong Spanish presence and Spanish Championship experience that we have on the M211s. We’re also keen to continue our technical development after spending time testing at Jerez in the winter months so this weekend also offers us a comparison test for development of the new machine.”

FTR Moto took an opening round top-six finish and enjoyed three other point-scoring finishes as the Moto2 World Championship got under way at the Losail Circuit in Qatar last night.

The IODA Racing Project team’s Simone Corsi followed up a solid preseason testing display by qualifying in 11th place for the 20-lap race before battling through to sixth place in the evening affair, held under floodlights at the 3.340-mile desert track.

IODA Racing Project's Simone Corsi

Talented young Colombian Yonny Hernandez took 12th place, fighting his way through from 20th place on the grid aboard his Blusens-STX FTR M211 machine. Hernandez won a three-way battle for 12th and his team-mate Esteve Rabat was just 0.02s adrift of Hernandez as the young Spaniard brought his M211 home in 14th place.

The final World Championship point went to German Max Neukirchner as he took 15th place on the MZ-branded FTR machine. HP Tuenti Speed Up Team youngsters Pol Espargaro and Valentin Debise finished 22nd and 23rd respectively with Kenny Noyes finishing 24th on the FOGI Racing/GP Tech-backed FTR M211.

Stop and Go Team riders Santiago Hernandez and Ratthapark Wilairot both crashed out of the series opener as did Kev Coghlan on the Aeroport de Castello machine, all escaped injury.

“Overall we’ve had a pretty tough opening race but I’m pleased to see plenty of FTRs in the points,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. “We always knew the beginning of 2011 would be demanding – with the many new teams we’re working with, the many young riders they have brought to FTR plus the riders moving from the 125cc World Championship class and the Spanish Championship.

“But the feedback from this opening round has been exceptional. To have so many teams and riders confident the FTR machine can win is a compliment but we want to move on from the Losail results now with a big improvement at Jerez in round two on Sunday week.”

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 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.”

Following the heavy rain in Portugal last weekend, today brought a little respite during the final free practice for the 2010 season. In fact, the sun was shining upon Spain’s Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana and the temperatures were quite warm.

WTR's Valentin Debise

It was a positive session for WTR San Marino 125cc rider Johann Zarco. After an unimpressive morning session, Zarco attacked the afternoon with determination and aggressiveness. With the help of his team, he improved the set up of his bike. He improved his lap times throughout the session, and finished in the ninth provisional position. Tomorrow he will try to improve again his position for the grid.

Conversely, today brought some difficulties for Valentin Debise. The session started with the same setting used at the pre-season test in March, which gave great results. During the last two races, the chassis was changed and, although the bike’s setup was good in Portugal and Debise held fourth for some laps, the same results didn’t come today. Debise closed the session in 39th position. Tomorrow, the Frenchman and his team will try to solve today’s problems to gain some positions for the starting grid.

Johann Jarco – 9th time (1’41.992 – 16 laps):
“This morning I wasn’t satisfy at all, but I worked hardly. Both my coach and my chief mechanic gave me the right indication to improve me and the bike. I went straight but then I waited for a nd followed the fast riders and their paths. This was really useful to lower my laptime. If tomorrow the weather will be without wind and not too warm like today, will be perfect.”

Valentin Debise – 39th time (1’39.817 – 19 laps):
“This afternoon I wasn’t so fast as this morning. I think the setting we used were not correct: for tomorrow we need to try to come back or change all completely, see that at the moment we are using another chassis, so different from the previous. Trying a different chassis at the end of the year is not so easy. I’m sure with the old one we could go better.”

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.”

After Saturday’s heavy rains at the Estoril Circuit during the MotoGP bwin Grande Premio de Portugal, Sunday’s conditions gradually improved during the afternoon. By race time, only a few wet spots remained.

Due to the needs of live television, Moto2 took to the track first on Sunday, and WTR San Marino’s Valentin Debise had an excellent and swift departure. The Moto2 race was declared dry although the track was still quite moist in some spots. Debise got off well from the  fourth row, and the Frenchman moved into fourth place by the second lap in fourth place, and held position for the first few laps. However, a severe pain caused by a crash that occurred on Saturday became too much to bear, and Debise began to lose positions quickly before and he was forced to retire.

WTR's Johann Zarco

It was also a difficult race for 125cc rider Johann Zarco.  The French rider, starting from 18th position, was unable to gain ground, and he fought to maintain his place. Unfortunately, the track was very slippery and he crashed with a group of other riders. After four laps, rain again began to fall, which forced the interruption of the race. Zarco was unable to take part in the restart.

VALENTIN DEBISE – retired:
“The bike was good, but it was a pity for the pain in my leg and for this reason I was not longer able to ride.”

JOHANN ZARCO – crashed:
“I crashed at the eighth lap while I was fighting with [Jonas] Folger. Unfortunately in a moment I realized I crashed. This fall was really a shame, this could be a good race, the bike went really well and I’m sure I could remount and finish in the points zone. “