Press Release | March 7, 2011
The following is from Kenny Noyes’ publicist…
After the three days of the official IRTA test at Jerez, Kenny Noyes leaves the Spanish track with testing miles under his belt and ready to get the real job of racing underway at Qatar. The weather was far from ideal at Jerez, Kenny losing all of the first day of testing to rain, and even the last two days saw cool temperatures and strong winds make posting fast times a difficult prospect.Despite the conditions, Kenny and his Avintia-STX team got a lot of work done on finding a base setting with his new FTR machine. Still recovering from shoulder surgery he had in December, Kenny lacked the strength to push at 100%, but he was still able to start exploring the potential of the bike and to post consistent lap times. The American improved his time by the best part of a second from Saturday to Sunday, and ended the test with a faster time than he set during the race last May.Kenny now heads back to his Spanish home in Barcelona, to prepare for the start of the 2011 season in two weeks’ time at Qatar. He’ll spend the intervening time studying the data from the test with his team, trying to learn as much as possible about the bike before the flag drops at Qatar. Thanks to the support of his sponsors FOGI Racing and GP Tech, Kenny and his Avintia-STX team believe that the potential they have unlocked is just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible. Once the season gets underway, the extra miles under the tires each weekend brings will help unleash the full potential of the FTR M211, and Kenny is confident of fighting with the front-runners.
Kenny Noyes, Fastest Lap: 1’44.717Kenny said, “The test actually went pretty good! We didn’t end up where we wanted to be on the timesheets, but we got a lot of work done. I was faster every time I went out, and I could hit those times reliably. Once I got into the 1’45s, I could do them lap after lap. Same once I got into the 1’44s. We’ve made a ton of progress here.””We really need more time on the bike. We’ve got a good base setting, but we’re not anywhere near its full potential yet. We’re still working to understand how to get the best out of the FTR, but the team have been awesome and we’re working really well. I’ve been sharing data with all of my teammates, and this is really paying off.””This year has been almost the opposite of last year. Last year I was healthy and had a lot of testing, this year I’m still only about 80% with my shoulder, and we’ve had so little testing I still have lots to learn about the bike. But I’m real excited about the potential: once I get the strength back in my shoulder and can use the FTR to the maximum, we’re gonna be much closer to the front!”
