Crash Denies Kenny Noyes Chance Of Points After a promising qualifying session on Saturday, Kenny Noyes started the race on Sunday confident of getting in the points. His Avintia-STX team, ably assisted by the support team from FTR and technicians from Bitubo, had made fast work of adapting his FOGI Racing FTR to the Bitubo suspension, and Kenny started with a great feeling with the bike. All the hard work put in by the team paid off in the early laps, as Noyes closed in on his target of points. But with so much still to learn about the bike and the suspension, the setup was not quite perfect, and a slight lack of rear grip meant that Kenny was forced to push the front a little harder than he wanted to in the conditions. Kenny tucked the front on lap 18, remounting to finish the race but out of reach of the points. Despite the crash and his lowly finish, Noyes and his Avintia-STX team leave Jerez with high hopes. Kenny and the team can see there is still so much potential in the FTR to extract, and they head to Estoril confident of making another big step forward into the points. Kenny Noyes, 29th, Fastest Lap: 1’56.160 Kenny said, “All in all, the weekend was real positive for us. Sure, we made a mistake and crashed out, but we were close to where we want to be, and close to the points. The crash was a typical rain crash, I was having trouble in the faster corners, and tucked the front trying to make it up in the slower sections.” “I’m real happy with FTR, real happy with the Bitubo guys, and already with the data we got from the dry practices here, they’re going to work on a different rear setting for me. I’m understanding the bike every session a little more, and with the help of the FTR guys, I think we’ll have a good base to build on in Estoril.” “The other cool thing was to have Geoff Maloney from GP Tech here in the box with us. It was great that he made it to Spain and got his first overseas GP experience, and we had a lot of fun with him here!” More, from a press release issued by AGP Racing: The difference between what was expected and what happened is the difference that occurred between free practice and race. Claudio Corti, on free practice three (dry track), was 6th fastest, while in the race (wet track) was 21st. Robertino Pietri, who showed a promising progress, in the race was forced to an halt by a crash in the very first laps, well before having a real chance to confront himself with the Andalusian track. Claudio Corti (51’03.890 – 21st) “The point is that we’ve not been able to find the best set-up for the wet. We improved from warm-up to race, but not enough with cold tires, we struggled. If only we had different weather conditions… on a dry tarmac, the bike performed really well”. Claudio Macciotta (Technical Director) “Our choice was for a full-wet set-up. The track presented us with mixed conditions, between almost dry and medium-wet. That was the problem”. Luigi Pansera (Team Manager) “It has been a lackluster day, no doubt. We have to work hard we have potential, and I trust all our people. But we have to catch up”. More, from a press release issued by KTM: Brilliant closing stage maneuver wins Philipp Oettl 1st Round Red Bull Rookies Cup 2011 Drawing on all his last season’s experience in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, 14 year-old German rider Philipp Oettl on Saturday made a masterly second last lap move to steal victory in the first round of the 2011 competition on the MotoGP racing circuit of Jerez, Spain. Philipp is the son of former 125 GP rider Peter Oettl. Oettl played a cat and mouse game with South African Brad Binder in the closing stages of the race after Binder had claimed pole and led throughout. He sat behind the South African waiting his moment and then made the challenge with less than two laps to go. He forced Binder to out-brake himself and go wide the slipped through the gap and headed for the checkered flag. Oettl made a fine recovery from a bad start to get into the action early in the race. “I had to work hard in the opening laps to get back up into second but then I could find a good rhythm. I just kept going as fast as I could without making any mistakes and the bike was working very well so I felt good about catching Brad. As I caught him I was thinking that I would have to pass him on the brakes into the last corner but I had the chance at the end of the back straight and I took it.” In contrast, Binder had a brilliant start and looked like being a certain winner for most of the race. But clearly Öttl had a plan. When the race entered its last quarter he continually closed the gap, shaving tenths of a second off each lap until the two riders were locked in battle two laps from the flag and separated by just 0.17 seconds. Oettl’s move was perfectly timed and gave the South African no time to make a counter challenge. Oettl and Binder, both experienced Red Bull Rookies had the race largely to themselves and crossed the line 14.5 seconds ahead of the rest of the field at the conclusion of the 16-lap race. Alan Techer of France completed the podium. It was a great opening to the fourth edition of this competition, which has proved to be the perfect fast track training for riders wanting to graduate to the small engine Moto GP categories. There are 14 races on the calendar in 2011. The 25 talented teenagers from 14 countries will be on the track in Jerez again on Sunday for Round 2 in this competition that is a perfect training ground for future stars of the professional racing circuit. Each Red Bull Rookie competes on identical KTM RC 125 machines. Results Round One 1. Philipp Oettl, Germany, 30 minutes 23.400 seconds 2. Brad Binder, South Africa, +0.567 3. Alan Techer, France, +14.692 4. Lorenzo Baldassarri, Italy, +22.052 5. Florian Alt, Germany, +27.579 6. Arthur Sissis, Australia +29.964 7. Xavier Pinsach, Spain, +30.054 8. Aaron España, Spain, +30.214 9. Javier Orellana, Britain, +40.625 10. Lukas Trautmann, Austria, +40.703 14-year-old Philipp Oettl celebrates winning Rd.1 of the 2011 Red Bull Rookies Cup 03.04.2011 Australian Arthur Sissis steals Round 2 of Red Bull Rookies Cup Arthur Sissis rode a superb race on a track that started out wet to win the second round of the Red Bull Rookies Cup on the Jerez racing circuit in Spain on Sunday. Saturday’s winner Philipp Oettl of Germany was second and Spanish teenager Aaron Espana completed the podium. Starting in wet conditions and on wet weather tires, the young riders had conditions very different to Saturday’s first round on the Spanish circuit and as the race progressed many ended up having a close encounter with the gravel on the edge of the track. But for the 15-year-old Australian, who is an experienced speedway rider it was almost a grid to flag victory. He took the lead before the first lap was complete and settled in to the business of completing an error-free race in conditions that many found hard to master. “I just went for it and once I got in front watched out for the pit board and as I could see the gap was getting bigger I was happy,” said Sissis. “Later on in the race the track started drying out so I tried a few different things. I was pushing harder going into the corners and I found I could go a bit quicker. I’ve not got any experience road racing in the rain and I don’t know if I can do the same thing in the dry but I’m going to try and be at the f ront in Estoril.” The Rookies tested in similar wet conditions on the Estoril circuit in Spain before the season and the Australian was also the fastest there. He gradually built up a comfortable lead even though on many occasions there was mayhem behind him as many riders made untimely exits. Philipp Oettl, who won on Saturday, rode a sensible race to finish section but unlike in round One when he managed to slip past leader Brad Binder of South Africa in the final stages, he was unable to close the gap and take on the Australian. Oettl, son of former 125 GP rider Peter Oettl can still be satisfied with his race weekend as he now leads the championship standings in this 14-race series run parallel to the MotoGP calendar. Going into the final stages, the most consuming battle was for third but in the final shakeout it was Espana who took the final podium place. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Lorenzo Wins Grand Prix of Spain Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo used his YZR-M1 to deliver a masterful lesson in wet riding to take his first MotoGP win of the year before his home crowd in Jerez, Spain on Sunday, April 3. Besides being his first professional victory in the wet, the win vaults Lorenzo to the top of the MotoGP championship standings with 45 points, nine points clear of Dani Pedrosa in second. But the treacherous conditions also derailed the hopes of several riders, notably including Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies who crashed out of the race. Spies drops to 12th in the standings and will be looking to make up ground at the next round in Estoril, Portugal on May 1. Slipping comfortably into second position on the first of 27 race laps, Lorenzo stayed in contention within the top three for several laps, staying calm and then moving into first as rivals Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Marco Simoncelli all crashed out of contention. Keeping a steady rhythm and inch-perfect lines finally rewarded Yamaha’s reigning world champion with the checkered flag. “With the competition so high this year I never imagined I would be the leader after two races,” Lorenzo admitted afterwards. “I am so happy to have won this weekend. It’s a great victory!” In contrast, Spies was denied his first MotoGP podium as a factory rider with just three laps remaining. Having initially dropped to sixth after the start, Spies’ riding style was on par with Lorenzo’s, and the Texan laid down smooth, consistent laps on a track that was wet in some places and drying in others. He gained a half-second per lap on second-place Pedrosa, then caught and passed him, raising the possibility of a 1-2 Yamaha finish. Disaster then struck as the slippery conditions and worn tires brought Spies’ race to a premature end as he lost the front and slid off the track. “I don’t think of it as a race today, it was more attrition,” Spies mused. “As soon as I passed Dani I knew that we had second place under control. I was taking it easy then all of a sudden I was on the floor. It was one of those things, and I think tires were the limiting factor today. It was a great show for the crowd though!” More, from a press release issued by FTR MOTO: FIRST 2011 PODIUM FOR FTR MOTO AS CORSI TAKES THIRD IN SPAIN FTR MOTO grabbed its first podium finish of the 2011 Moto2 World Championship as Simone Corsi finished third in Sunday’s second round at a ran-hit Jerez circuit in Spain. The IODA Racing Project rider battled through from 18th place on the grid and the hard-charging Italian went to the front of the 26-lap race on lap two. He led for four laps before eventually crossing the finish line in third place to sit fourth in the World Championship after two of the 17 rounds. And Corsi was the first of seven FTR M211-mounted riders to score points in round two with young Scotsman Kev Coghlan taking a solid eighth place on the Aeroport de Castello machine and German Max Neukirchner scooping World Championship points for the second successive round on his MZ-FTR machine. Popular Thai rider Ratthapark Wilairot finished 12th on the Stop and Go Team’s M211 with Corsi’s IODA Racing Project team-mate Mattia Pasini 13th, Yonny Hernandez was 14th on the Blusens-STX M211 while his team-mate, Esteve Rabat, grabbed 15th place and the final World Championship point with a last lap charge. The remaining four FTR M211s all finished the Spanish race with Pol Espargaro 20th on the HP Tuenti Speed Up Team machine, Kenney Noyes 29th on the FOGI Racing/GP Tech-backed FTR M211, Debise, team-mate to Espargaro, 30th and Santiago Hernandez, on the second of the Blusens-STX machines, 31st. “The Jerez race was completely different to round one in Qatar in a number of ways so to see the FTR improvement in terms of the third place and two more FTR riders scoring points compared to Qatar was very pleasing,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. He continued: “The race and the Grand Prix day in general was littered with crashes, to see all of the FTR M211 machines home safely was a big bonus. And those efforts have also helped us move up to third in the Constructors’ Championship. We’ve the best part of four weeks now before the next round in Portugal to take advantage of the data gained in Qatar and Spain and continue our development of the M211.”