Garry McCoy announced this weekend that he has left FB Corse, presumably after the MotoGP team failed to develop its racing effort in any meaningful way. Beleagured from the start with lofty goals and un-true press releases, FB Corse has struggle both technically and financially to get on the MotoGP grid. After suffering a setback of not being given the green light to race while testing  at Valencia, FB Corse seemed determined to make at least a few wild card appearances this season.

Now with McCoy resigning from the team, the MotoGP paddock expects this to be the end of the Italian racing project (editor’s note: FB Corse has already removed its photos from its flickr stream). Of course knowing Franco Uncini and the FB Corse spin machine, we may still see another press release or two in the future from the Italian racing effort. McCoy’s official statement after the jump, best of luck to you Garry.

Official Statement from Garry McCoy Regarding Leaving FB Corse:

Garry McCoy dissociates from FB Corse

Garry McCoy and italian FB Corse Team have decided in mutual consent to finish the relationship started the 30th of January 2010.

Garry McCoy : “After spending the last 4 months training at top level, today I am at my best mentally and physically to race.

My goal is to come back to the World Championship.

I thought FB Corse was ready to do the step but they haven’t accomplished the needs till now required.

Hopefully soon, I will be able to update you with more news.”

Source: MotoMatters

We feel like we’ve heard this before…oh wait, we have. FB Corse has announced it will push back its second testing date back to the last week April because rider Garry McCoy has been suffering from the flu. You may remember the FB Corse pulled a similar move, and pushed back the launch of their team presentation when issues concerning the signing of John Hopkins arose.

Whether true or another misinformation from the Italian team (if anyone knows Garry McCoy, the Sultan of Slide, let us know), the take home message is the same: FB Corse will be testing at Misano in late April instead of earlier as had been hoped. This raises doubt as to whether the team will be able to complete its “race simulation” in front of Dorna representatives in time to meet their Jerez entry goal, which is on May 2nd.

“While the doctors have forced McCoy to rest, the staff of Oral Engineering has continued their own work, developing the bike, thanks also to the simulator, static and dynamics, possible in the [dyno],” says the team . “In the factory, has been done a small technical service of the three cylinder, working on the base done by the team in Valencia, during the last month. For the next test, the team will have new transmission and the electronic management for the FB01, that will make its debut in Santamonica.”

The proof will be in the pudding for this MotoGP hopeful, you can’t fake a race pace laps, and perhaps when FB Corse gives us such a result, we’ll start taking them more seriously. The only thing the bugs us the most about all this is the tremendous respect we have for John Hopkins and Garry McCoy, who seem to be getting wrapped up in FB Corse’s non-sense, which has lost the team a tremendous amount of credibility in the media and in the paddock.

Source: Crash.net

Despite not making the entry list into the 2010 MotoGP season (yet?), we have to admit it’s a welcomed sound to hear a triple taking off from the pits at Valencia. We here at Asphalt & Rubber were big fans of the Aprilia RS3 Cube, despite its propensity to catch fire. And while FB Corse may have drawn our ire for less than truthful media communications, their Oral Engineering designed three cylinder motor leaves us hoping the team can get their act together and make it into MotoGP so we can continue to hear its throaty tune. Check out the video after the jump for a sweet taste of triple goodness.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4tSSUc6nx0

Source: MotoBlog.it

It’s refreshing to see that the Dorna is about as amused as we are here at Asphalt & Rubber over FB Corse’s “extremely positive” press release after the Italian MotoGP-hopeful team was denied entry into the premiere motorcycle prototype racing class. At the request of Dorna delegates, FB Corse has issued a second press release that rescinds their previous statement of being admitted into MotoGP, and now clarifies the situation with some prose that’s a little bit closer to the reality and truth of the matter.

The big takeaway from the situation is that FB Corse must now prove the FB01 in a race simulation test, which would have the race bike complete a race distance at race pace to show not only the bike’s competitiveness, but also its reliability. FB Corse’s new press release follows after the jump.

The FB Corse Team, would like to clarify, after talking to Dorna delegates, that the team FB Corse is not yet inside the MotoGP entry list following the decision, made by the team together with Franco Uncini and Oscar Gallardo, of continue developing the FB01 until Jerez MotoGP race, in order to be more competitive in the World Championship.

The Team FB Corse has had clearance to test at any time, before Jerez race. Due to the lack of time before Qatar and Japan race, the FB Corse will have to show a race simulation to Dorna before the first  European round, that is the FB Corse main goal.

Franco Uncini and Dorna’s delegate Oscar Gallardo, are very pleased to see the work done by the FB Corse.

The FB Corse Team, would  like to thank Dorna and Franco Uncini, for the chance given to the team to be part of the MotoGP World.

Source: MotoMatters

Literally no sooner did we finish our piece on FB Corse missing the boat to start MotoGP at Qatar, than the want-to-be race team released its own press statement, putting some spin on the situation. In what seems to defy logic, FB Corse claims that they have been admitted into MotoGP, and will start at Jerez round of the series, which seems to “enhance” the statement by Dorna that the team may be able “to join the grid once the MotoGP paddock returns for the European stage of the championship.”

This is of course not the first time the team has put a positively rose-colored perspective on a situation, one example of which being their adamant statements that John Hopkins was confirmed to ride for the team (this would latter prove to be a false statement). Continue reading for the rest of this racing melodrama.

FB Corse has seemingly taken Dorna’s suggestion to test and develop the bike further to heart, if not passing the idea off as their own. This is of course despite the fact the team was nearly 7.5 seconds off Casey Stoner’s qualifying time at Valencia last year. According to SportMediaset, McCoy’s best lap was a 1′40, compared to Stoner’s lap record of 1′32.582. FB Corse claims that McCoy lapped the Spanish track without the aid of electronic traction and stability components. Of course at this point, we have to wonder if the bike is even equipped with such devices, and if it was, why they would be off on such an important event for the team.

FB Corse retorts saying that their reason for the au naturel testing condition was to allow Garry McCoy to get a feel for the bike without electronics interfering with the bike’s handling characteristics. Our guess is the electronics haven’t been fully developed yet to be track ready, and thus weren’t installed on the FB01. This would seem to jive with the statements from Uncini that the team as still in the early-stages of preparation, but you can make your own assessments on where the truth resides. Read the ludicrous press release below, and compare it with the statements made earlier by Dorna’s Franco Uncini.

FB CORSE IN THE MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Dorna confirms FB Corse entry in the MotoGP World Championship.

Valencia, 17th march 2010

Today, Franco Uncini and Oscar Gallardo have given their approval to FB Corse after a full day test in Valencia track.

After being confirmed as the new entry, the team FB Corse and Garry McCoy have decided to continue developing the FB01 and start the championship in the Jerez round.

McCoy has done a three days test with a very positive result. The FB01 has been running with no electronics for the Australian to feel the bike.

Garry McCoy: “ What we achieved today for me was remarkable because from where we started from the first day to achieve so many laps today, I really did not expect that at all. I was really wanting to go to Qatar and Japan but I think that our decision is very wise as we have to concentrate on the development of the bike in order to improve and be competitive from the first race.”

Sergio Bertocchi: “I am really happy about all the compliments we have received from Dorna and Franco Uncini. I was not really expecting to be at that level. I am very satisfied that they allow us to enter the championship when we want and we will do the necessary development in order to enter with the best conditions.”

Andrea Ferrari: “I am very satisfied about the results of today. The team has done a great job and they have been working very hard to achieve our main goal. Right now is very important to continue developing the bike.”

Franco Antoniazzi (Oral Engineering): “ We have done an extraordinary job today. There is an absolute symbiosis between Garry, the team and the bike that allow us to work in the best conditions. Garry has everything needed to go further with this project.”

Tomorrow the FB Corse team will continue testing in the Valencia circuit.

Source: Sport Media Set via MotoMatters

Hopes were dashed in Valencia today as FB Corse was denied the opportunity to enter the 2010 MotoGP series with the rest of the field at Qatar on April 11th. The FB Corse team was at the Spanish track the past few days testing their FB01 race bike with Garry McCoy at the helm. Today being the final day of testing, representatives from Dorna and the IRTA were on hand to assess the condition of the FB Corse team and bike, and to make a determination as to whether they would be included in the 2010 series. Despite all of the media hype, Dorna’s Franco Uncini’s determined the team was not ready for MotoGP, but could maybe enter the series midway through if they where then ready.

Talking to GPone, Uncini described FB Corse as “interesting,” but not ready for racing in the ranks of MotoGP. His primary criticism seems to focus around the amount of testing the team has done on the track, which up until this week was effectively zero. ”It’s not a question of reliability,” Uncini explained to GPone, “the bike had no problems at all. But it really needs to put in some track miles. They are still right at the very start of the project.”

Despite this failing mark, Uncini was optimistic about the team’s future saying, “the project looks really good. It may be possible for the bike to join the grid once the MotoGP paddock returns for the European stage of the championship. But they will know when they are ready. When the time comes, we will give them a call and take another look at the bike, and then we could allow them onto the grid.”

For us race fans this seems to be a break in the ongoing saga about FB Corse, which has spanned 6 months and been the subject of much speculation, both about the team making it to the grid, and who would be riding the bike. With FB Corse’s Moto2 team now MIA, and FB Corse’s MotoGP hopes at the very best put on hold, the future seems shaky for this Italian team. But as always, time will tell.

Source: GPone via MotoMatters

The day has come for FB Corse to make its big track debut, and also to prove to Dorna and the IRTA that they have what it takes to race in MotoGP. This March 15th thru 17th will see the Italian team take to the track at Valencia, where they will have their first track shakedown.

In attendance March 17th will be Dorna’s Franco Uncini and an IRTA representative. The purpose of these men is to assess the FB01’s competitive ability, during what is being called a “timing test’. Intially this has been reported to mean that Dorna and the IRTA are interested in seeing as to whether or not Garry McCoy can take the FB01 around the course within three seconds of last season’s slowest qualifying MotoGP lap time. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case now.

With many series employing a cut-off time for qualifies from the pole setting time, there was the expectation that a similar time benchmark was being used to asses competitiveness in MotoGP, which wants to see good showings, even from the series’ backmarkers. For FB Corse and Garry McCoy this meant the time to beat would roughly be 1′35.00, and for everyone else this will be the first real opportuniy for FB Corse to prove themselves as more than just a bunch of hype and vaporware.

However, Dorna’s Uncini has clarified exactly what sort of assessments he will be making on the 17th, and has disavowed a set time-to-beat measurement. Speaking to GPone, Uncini said:

“The truth is that there is no limit, the story of [getting within] three seconds is not true. How can you judge a bike, on its debut, in that way? If it was +3.1sec should we say no and if it is +2.9sec we say yes? It is a question of reliability, not just performance. I mean, the lap time is a factor, but also the consistency of performance. If the FB01 is fast but cannot make five laps, it will be a problem. It must compete. Stay on track. This is the goal and this is how it will be judged. With one eye, of course, on the whole picture.”

Despite this more subjective assessment, it goes without saying the session in Valencia means high-stakes for FB Corse, and surely the team is keeping their fingers crossed for favorable weather. More as we get it.

Photos of the FB Corse FB01 Race Bike:

 

Source: GPone, Crash.net & MotoMatters

Fresh from it’s unveiling in Milan, DailyMotos has posted a video to YouTube on the Official presentation of the FB Corse MotoGP team and FB01 race bike. Garry McCoy was on hand to help take the wraps off the MotoGP contender, which has a three-cylinder 800cc motor that was originally intended for a BMW MotoGP entry. Check the unveiling after the jump.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOhOW-UquKQ

Source: DailyMotos via TwoWheelsBlog

This weekend Garry McCoy signed a two-year deal with FB Corse that sees the Australian rider making a return to premiere GP racing. The move comes just days after McCoy was dropped by one of Triumph’s Factory WSS team, BE1 Racing, and FB Corse got the official “peace out” from John Hopkins. With McCoy likely to find only teams in Moto2 looking for riders, the timing for both parties couldn’t have been better. Details after the jump.

According to MCN, McCoy will ride and help develop the 34100 for two years, with the first year primarily focusing on getting the bike and team up to race pace. FB Corse hopes to then be competitive in 2011, but will have re-evaluate itself in 2012 when MotoGP is expected to go into a four-cylinder format only. FB Corse’s 34100 is based of a three-cylinder design that was originally built for BMW by Oral Engineering.

FB Corse is expected to make three wild card apperances in the 2010 season, but the team remains hopeful that they can put together a whole season.

Source: MCN & MotoMatters

We’re so disgruntled over the persistence of the FB Corse rumors, that we’re not even going to try and put together a quality post on the lastest gossip surrounding the hopeful Italian MotoGP team. Seriously, we don’t care if they make an announcement that Jesus Christ himself is going to come down on a beam of light, and ride the FB Corse 34100 to victory. We’re just not going to cover it today.

There is however some credible talk going on in the MotoGP paddock that Garry McCoy, who recently lost his ride at Triumph WSS effort, will be back in MotoGP with FB Corse. Read a more reputable race site for all the news if you still care. We’re going to call it a day here in the A&R office, and go home and play some smooth jazz guitar. See you all Monday.