FTR MOTO JOINS FORCES WITH THREE-RIDER BQR TEAM FOR 2011 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. Spaniard Rabat and Hernandez, from Colombia, will run FTR M211s under the Blusens STX banner while American Noyes will be in the colours of Avintia STX. The Noyes operation, confirmed recently, also includes backing from American organisation GP Tech and from Canadian team, FOGI Racing. 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, will be hoping to follow up the potential shown in 2010 when he grabbed pole position for the French Grand Prix and twice finished in the top 10, completing the Championship in 24th place. The team’s sponsors include consumer electronic products company Blusens, STX global courier and logistics and Avintia, a Spanish construction project specialist. “Team Director Raul Romero has done a great job of getting the whole package together for 2011,” said FTR director Steve Bones. “It’s going to be a busy pit garage hopefully a successful one.” He continued: “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.” Bones concluded: “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.”