Press Release | January 19, 2011
The following is from Kenny Noyes’ publicist…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of the Promoracing team, but the best offer came from his old friends at BQR.”As soon as we learned that his team had withdrawn, we contacted him and began working to find the budget to run a third bike,” said BQR team owner Raúl Romero.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 When he learned that Kenny’s team had withdrawn, he managed to bring Kenny and BQR together with Fogi Racing.Fogi Racing is a Canadian racing team active and successful in both Canada and the United States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!”
