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FTR Denies Financial Problems with Forward Racing

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Following reports of financial problems and unpaid bills between Forward Racing and FTR, FTR today issued a press statement clarifying the situation. In the press release, FTR praises the progress of the Yamaha FTR project at Sepang, and restates its support for Forward’s Moto2 program as well.

FTR’s Managing Director Jon Jones states that “there is [sic] no technical or financial issues between FTR and Forward Racing.” The statement goes on to clarify that the Forward Moto2 program has been temporarily put on hold to allow FTR to focus on the MotoGP project, and that the Moto2 project will be resumed at an unspecified later date.

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MotoGP: Yamaha Up’s the Ante with Non-MSMA Race Bike

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When Yamaha announced they would be leasing their M1 engines to ex-CRT teams for 2014, the first wave of reaction was overwhelmingly positive. With 24 liters of fuel allowed, and 12 engines instead of 5, the Yamaha engine package looked like being the best thing on offer to the so-called non-MSMA teams, as CRT is to be called from next year.

Then doubt set in. Looking at the Yamaha M1 package, what you’d want from Yamaha was the chassis rather than the motor. The engine is the least powerful of the MotoGP prototypes, but its chassis was by far the best of the bunch. Both the Honda and the Yamaha non-MSMA packages appeared to be offering the worst part of each bike: Honda offering their chassis (good, but not great) and a dumbed-down version of their superlative engine.

Yamaha offering a full-fat engine (the weakest of the bunch), for teams to have someone build a chassis around without Yamaha’s 20+ years of experience building Deltabox frames. Perhaps the Yamaha M1 lease package – a lot of money, just for some engines – was not the bargain it at first appeared.

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Moto2: Gino Rea Launches Self-Sponsored Wildcard Effort

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Despite losing his Moto2 ride after the withdrawal of a major sponsor from the ESGP team, Gino Rea is to contest selected Moto2 rounds in 2013. The young Englishman has received the go-ahead from Dorna and IRTA to enter as a wildcard at as many races as he can raise funds for in the 2013 season.

With material support from FTR, Rea will be testing and racing the 2013 version of the FTR Moto2 chassis. The team, run by Gino Rea and his father David, currently intend to race at 11 rounds of the Moto2 championship – basically, all of the European rounds. The exact number of races they will appear at will depend on the amount of money they can raise.

That is the big question for Rea. The young Londoner still needs to raise some £20,000 to contest each round. Rea has received strong support from his fan base, raising money from individual donations through the Gino Rea Club website. That effort continues, while Rea is also searching for more traditional sponsors. After the jump is a press release issued by Gino Rea, complete with contact details for potential sponsors.

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San Carlo Honda Gresini to Field a CRT Bike for 2012

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Finally putting an end to the speculation, Team San Carlo Honda Gresini has confirmed that the satellite Honda MotoGP team will field a claiming rule team (CRT) entry for the 2012 season. Using a Honda CBR1000RR motor with a custom chassis built by FTR Moto (the same firm linked to Ducati’s twin-spar aluminum frame), Gresini becomes the latest MotoGP to jump on the growing CRT bandwagon.

The move means San Carlo Honda Gresini will field a hybrid garage for next season, with Álvaro Bautista on satellite-spec Honda RC213V bike, and a yet unnamed rider on the CRT racing machine. With a high-profile satellite team like Gresini adding a CRT bike to its format, the news adds yet more validation to the CRT movement.

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FTR Moto: First Moto2 Bike to Race at IOMTT

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As things at the Isle of Man get underway for the 2010 Isle of Man TT, FTR Moto is set to take an Isle first: the first Moto2 race bike to take on the Mountain Course. 22-year-old Olie Linsdell will race his FTR M210 in the six-lap Senior TT event on Friday, June 11th. For those doing the math, that’s a 226 mile race on a “prototype” machine, going race pace on city streets.

Linsdell’s FTR Moto2 has the same chassis setup as the Moto2 race bike, but features a race-prepped Honda CBR600RR motor, instead of the Moto2 modified lump from the same paterfamilias. The CBR600RR motor was prepared by the Joe Darcey Team, and is built to World Supersport specification.

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