Kenny Noyes looking forward to World Moto2 challenge The sole American rider on the 2010 intermediate category grid is preparing for his debut on the World Championship stage with the Jack&Jones by Antonio Banderas team. Kenny Noyes, the 29-year-old Barcelona-born bilingual American rider, is realizing a lifelong ambition in 2010 by competing in the World Championship. After learning his trade in dirt track in the U.S. and in the CEV Buckler (Spanish National Championship) Noyes will ride for the Jack&Jones by Antonio Banderas team, managed by Dani Devahive and with Joan Olive as his teammate. “Yes it’s true I’m the only American on the grid, I thought there would be a few more, but I have the chance to do well and bring great satisfaction to motorcycling fans from my country who will be pulling for me,” Noyes told motogp.com (in a Spanish-language interview translated into an unusual version of English by Dorna and now posted here after being re-translated into more conventional American English by a friend of roadracingworld.com). “I am an American rider who has spent a lot of time in Spain and I have competed for many Spanish teams. I never really road raced in the U.S., just some track days at Willow Springs and Thunder Hill. We were planning on moving up to the big class and going Grand National Dirt Track and were talking to Aprilia about it when we got a chance to ride in Spain. I always wanted to road race so I jumped at it, but it was tough starting in the nationals at one of the most competitive national championships in the world. I started out fighting to qualify in Supersport and ended up winning races and setting lap records after nine years, eight of them on 1000cc bikes, in the CEV Buckler for nine years. We never got the title but with Kawasaki we were as fast as anybody in 2009 and except for two mechanical DNFs we’d have been fighting for the title right to the end. I know Spanish racing very well. It’s tough and if you look at the World Championship grids this year you’ll see 23 Spanish riders, more than any other country. There is a reason for that. They start road racing very early here. “On the other hand, my racing origins were in America. I was a Lodi Cycle Bowl dirt track rider and moved on to win the Formula USA Pro-Singles National Championship. That was a brand new championship that offered opportunities to private teams and riders and I think you could kinda say that Moto2 is like that in road racing. Dirt track style still teaches you how to control a sliding bike so I think the mix of American flat track and Spanish road racing is a good mix.” There will be a good international mix in Noyes’ new garage as well, with two Swedes, an Englishman and several Catalans working alongside him. Noyes is enthusiastic at this opportunity and will be working with his new team and the latest version of the Promo-Harris bike at the Circuit de Catalunya tests. “This is what I’ve been working towards since I started racing professionally,” said Noyes. “It’s a dream come true. I’m approaching it with lots of enthusiasm and I know there is a lot to learn. I think I’m more prepared than ever. For the team it’s also their first year in the World Championship so they are as hungry for success as I am. “Until we complete this first test and the official ones after, we cannot make any predictions,” continued Noyes. “For us there are many new things. I haven’t competed with these riders before and I only know five of the circuits on the calendar. There will be a lot to learn this year, but like Ben Spies demonstrated last year, you can win while you’re learning.”