FTR's Moto2 debut a success

The all-new British-built FTR Moto M209 made a successful debut in the Spanish Moto2 championship round at Barcelona and the machine will now continue the development in Spain with the Joe Darcey team.

Local rider Diego Lozano tested the innovative machine during practice  – Friday was the first time the bike had even run on track – and FTR Moto technical staff decided to give the machine its race debut in round five of the CEV Buckler Spanish Championship,

Although it eventually retired from the race with a clutch problem, FTR were delighted with the machine and FTR Moto Director Steve Bones said: “The performance on Friday and Saturday was far beyond our expectations. The machine was only presented to the press in London last Wednesday then shipped to Barcelona for this initial shakedown.

“We made good progress on Friday with Diego and improved dramatically on Saturday and we were close to the best Moto2 times. The Joe Darcey Team worked exceptionally well with the new machine and we’ve definitely achieved a lot more than we expected at this stage.”

Spanish rider Lozano added: “The weekend was great. Nobody knew what we could achieve with this machine and to actually start the race was a big bonus for everyone. During the race I felt a small problem with the motor, not serious, but it was better to stop as we had already developed the machine a lot in the previous two days and proved its high potential.”

The FTR machine will now be tested at the Albacete circuit on October 22-23 with Joe Darcey riders Kev Coghlan and Graeme Gowland and the machine will be raced in the final two Spanish Championship rounds – at Jerez on November 15 and Valencia on November 22 – with Gowland aboard.

FTR Moto say the customer rolling chassis and test motor is now available to all World and Spanish Championship teams for their respective 2010 campaigns.