| FTR MOTO2 PROJECT EMBARKS ON TEST SCHEDULE |
.jpg) FTR MOTO made a successful debut with its M209 Moto2 machine at the Montmelo circuit near Barcelona at the weekend and will now continue the development of the Grand Prix machine in Spain with the Joe Darcey Team. Diego Lozano tested the innovative machine on Friday and Saturday and the team and FTR Moto technical staff decided to give the machine its race debut in round five of the CEV Buckler Spanish Championship, eventually retiring from the race with a minor technical issue with the engine. “The performance on Friday and Saturday was far beyond our expectations,” said FTR Moto director Steve Bones. “The machine was only presented in London last Wednesday then shipped to Barcelona for this initial shakedown. “We made good progress on Friday with Diego and improved dramatically on Saturday and in the end we were close to the best Moto2 times. The Joe Darcey Team worked exceptionally well with the new machine and we’ve definitely achieved a lot more than we expected at this stage.” Spanish rider Lozano added: “The weekend was great. Nobody knew what we could achieve with this machine and to actually start the race was a big bonus for everyone. During the race I felt a small problem with the motor, not serious, but it was better to stop as we had already developed the machine a lot in the previous two days and proved its high potential.” The FTR machine will now be tested at the Albacete circuit on October 22-23 with riders Kev Coghlan and Graeme Gowland and the machine will be raced in the final two Spanish Championship rounds – at Jerez on November 15 and Valencia on November 22 – with Gowland aboard. The FTR customer rolling chassis and test motor is now available for all World and Spanish Championship teams for their respective 2010 campaigns with delivery expected to be approximately 30 days from order. Ends Photo caption: Diego Lozano giving the FTR Moto machine its debut at the Montmelo circuit. |
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