Jerez Moto2 Test
American Kenny Noyes and his Avintia-STX Moto2 team will head to the first round of the 2011 Moto2 World Championship in Qatar later this month back in 26th position after having completed pre-season preparations in Jerez.
After the three days of the official IRTA test at Jerez, Kenny Noyes leaves the Spanish track with test miles under his belt and some base setting for his 600cc Honda-powered FTR M211 machine.
Still recovering from shoulder surgery he had in Dec., Noyes lacked the strength to push at 100%, similar to Valentino Rossi in the premier MotoGP class.
Noyes was still able to start exploring the potential of the FTR M211 Moto2 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 Noyes (FTR Moto2) says: "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!"
Kenny now heads back to his Spanish home in Barcelona, to prepare for the start of the 2011 MotoGP 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 Moto2 bike before the flag drops at Qatar.
