U.S. racing outfit Attack Performance has confirmed that it will contest the State-side MotoGP races this year once again with its APR CRT project as a wildcard entry, this time featuring American rider Blake Young.
Team owner Richard Stanboli told motogp.com that it is currently working on improving its Kawasaki-powered in-house built chassis, which last year participated in Laguna Seca and Indianapolis with Steve Rapp. It was a tough few rounds for the Huntington Beach, Calif.-based team, which failed to qualify for the first race, but then scored 14th in Indy. Part of this was the inability to test the Bridgestone tires before the weekend – a problem that is unlikely to occur this time around.
The data gathered from the previous rounds is being used in the development of the bike, which is set to get a run-out on track later this month, and then at the Circuit of the Americas track in February. The spec Magneti Marelli ECU that will be used this season is not an option for wildcard entries, yet this is no setback for Stanboli, who commented that the team is familiar with both Marelli and Motec software, and hence will continue using its Motec M1 system.
“It is a very advanced ECU and comparable to the Marelli,” Stanboli said. “We have refined a number of the strategies from last year, so we don’t feel the ECU will be a disadvantage. We have made and will continue to make changes in the chassis as we test more and get closer to our first event in Austin.”
The 25-year-old Young from Wisconsin, who was AMA Superbike runner-up in 2011 and 2012, has significant experience of American circuits, although like others will have to learn the COTA track from scratch, as well as get used to the Bridgestone tires and carbon brakes.
–From motogp.com
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