Jerez, Spain – Canadian motorcycle road racing team FOGI Racing had a successful showing in round one of the CEV Buckler Championship in Spain this weekend. Tommy Aquino piloted the FTR Moto2 machine for the very first time and took advantage of every possible track condition. Friday morning Aquino was able to reacquaint himself with the popular Jerez circuit. The practice on Friday would be the only dry conditions for the weekend, with weather constantly changing throughout the weekend it was very difficult to take advantage of the limited track time.
FOGI Racing’s Andrew Murray was asked about the weekend, and replied “We had a great dry setup and a great wet setup but even with these factors in place the conditions would change throughout the session making it difficult to choose the best setup to give us the advantage.”
On race day, morning practice saw a wet tarmac but following race one the track was quickly drying. While half the teams were choosing wet tires and the others choosing dry slick tires, FOGI Racing’s Crew Chief Toni Gruschka was prepared to change tires from wet to dry on the grid if necessary but the decision was to stay with the wet tires for the race. FOGI Racing’s Pilot Tommy Aquino had an incredible start gaining 9 positions by the completion of lap one and was continuing to gain positions when the race was halted with a red flag due to a crash in the final turn of the circuit. With all riders now back in pit lane most opted to switch from rain tires to dry slicks considering the track was now almost completely dry. FOGI Racing quickly changed tires on the FTR M211 and the race was restarted from the original grid positions of what would now be a shortened 9 lap race. With almost all riders on dry slick tires during the warm up lap the weather changed yet again bringing massive amounts of rain to the track surface just before the restart. With the race restarted, on lap one many riders chose to come into the pits to change back to rain tires with the extremely wet conditions now in place. Aquino also chose to come into the pits and exchange tires, but this left him one lap down from those riders who managed to stay out on the existing tire choices.
Once back on the track Aquino worked hard to regain his positions running very good lap times given the conditions, and managed to finish 21st overall during the race. Gruschka was asked for his thoughts on the race and replied “I have never seen conditions like this in Spain for 7 years, but we are very happy with Tommy’s decisions throughout the race, and we have been very happy with his progress throughout the weekend even though this result may not reflect it. We are excited to be going to Navarra where we will get more valuable seat time and hopefully more stable track conditions.”
Aquino made a lot of positive progress throughout the entire weekend and the chemistry within the team was great. With a test at the new Navarra circuit just outside Pamplona, Spain on April 12th, and Round two of the series on April 22nd FOGI Racing is excited to get back on the bike and bring home a strong finish.
For further information on the FOGI Racing team and how you can be a part of the CEV Buckler program please contact Andrew Murray at (902) 499-3610 or amurray@fogi-racing.com
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