KENNY NOYES WILL RACE IN THE 2011 MOTO2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WITH TEAM BQR Cardedeu (Barcelona), 19th January 2011. American Kenny Noyes has signed with BQR to race in the 2011 Moto2 World Championship. In doing so Kenny will return to the team that he began his road racing career with back in 2001 when the Spanish team signed him as rookie road racer fresh off the American Dirt Track ovals. After a strong first year in the Moto2 world championships with a Pole Position in Le Mans, two seventh places in Jerez and Catalunya and 22 points, Noyes returns to BQR with his sights set on the front of the Moto2 grid in second year of world championship racing. With this new addition to the team, BQR will have a three riders in Moto2 making it the biggest team in the class, with Tito Rabat and Yonny Hernandez running in Blusens-STX colors and Kenny Noyes running with a new Avintia-STX design. “I’m very excited to ride with BQR again and to have the support of American sponsors like Fogi Racing and GPTech, that have stepped up and made this possible. The team is great, I feel at home with them and we have the technical support of FTR that has proven to be one of the most competitive bikes out there. It’s a real tough year for teams and riders all around the world and I really want to thank Raul Romero, Angus Borland and Geoff Maloney for putting this together and believing in me. Last year we had some good results but I wasn’t consistent, this year we will be a lot stronger and faster.” More, from a press release issued by Kenny Noyes’ publicist: Kenny Noyes Signs with BQR in World Moto2 American Kenny Noyes, left without a ride when the Spanish Promoracing team suddenly withdrew, will return to the Moto2 World Championship riding with the Barcelona-based BQR team. Noyes will join Colombian Yonny Hernández and Spaniard Esteve Rabat on the three-rider BQR team which has just announced a switch to FTR prototypes. While his teammates will ride in Blusens-STX colors, Noyes’ bike will be in Avintia-STX colors and with additional support from Fogi Racing of Canada and GPtech of the United States. For Noyes, once again the only US rider in Moto2, this is a homecoming because he began his roadracing career in Spain with BQR back in 2001. Several teams contacted the American after the surprise collapse of the Promoracing team, but the best offer came from his old friends at BQR. “As soon as we learned that his team had withdrawn, we contacted him and began working to find the budget to run a third bike,” said BQR team owner Raúl Romero. ” We are very glad to have Kenny back and believe he will make a big step forward this year on our FTR. Noyes’ British FTR M211 will be provided by Canadian-based Fogi Racing owner, Angus Borland. American Geoff Maloney (GPtech) worked with Boland in 2010 and directed the successful wild card entry at the Indianapolis Grand Prix with American Jason Disalvo. Maloney met Kenny during private testing at Indianapolis prior to the GP. When he learned that Kenny’s team had withdrawn, he managed to bring Kenny and BQR together with Fogi Racing. Fogi Racing is a Canadian racing team active and successful in both Canada and the United States by supporting young up-and-coming talent like 17-year old Ben Young for the last two seasons and this year in AMA Supersport. They also backed wild card entries for Scot Kev Coghlan in Europe in addition to the Indianapolis entry. Borland said, “As Fogi/FTR join the Moto2 World Championships with US rider Kenny Noyes, BQR and GPtech, we look forward to a successful season together and to creating a buzz within our industry in North America and beyond in the hope we will receive further support and sponsorship to continue our success.” Maloney added, “From our experience at Indy we learned a lot about the FTR and we believe Kenny, who had some good results in his first GP season, will run in the lead group in 2011. This year he knows all the tracks and, I believe, will be on a more competitive bike.” Last season Noyes was one of ten “true rookies” (riders who had never taken part in a Grand prix in any class) among the permanent riders in the 40-bike Moto2 field and his two seventh places were the two best individual results achieved by a first time GP rider in the new Moto2 class. As a season highlight, he took the pole at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, one of 14 new tracks that he had to learn over the 17-race season. “I am really glad to be back with Raúl Romero and BQR team,” said Kenny. “I want to especially thank Angus Borland for stepping up to help make this work with BQR. Thanks also Geoff Maloney for putting us together with Fogi Racing, to my helmet sponsor, HJC, and my leathers sponsor, Arlen Ness, for sticking with me through all this. It has been a rough time for us. I had shoulder surgery at the beginning of December and was still in the hospital when I got the call telling me that the team had pulled out because of sponsor problems. We started working that same day to find a competitive team. I’ve been in the gym for the last three weeks and will start riding dirt bikes next week. I ride the FTR for the first time on February 7 at the Circuit of Catalunya. I’ll be a little sore at first, maybe at about 80% for the first preseason tests but I’ll be 100% ready when the season starts at Qatar in March. I’m stoked!”