Day 1 of the first official IRTA Moto2 test kicked off today in Valencia, Spain, and America’s own Kenny Noyes ended with the third-quickest time. This is the first time any of the 37 riders have used the official spec-Honda engines that they will race with and judging by the closeness of the times, the new middle GP catagory looks set to have some seriously exciting racing this year.

MotoUSA recently caught up with Noyes as he prepares for his first season of Grand Prix racing in our Kenny Noyes Moto2 Interview. Be sure to check it out and read more about the sole American hopeful in the series this season. Judging by his times in pre-season testing thus far, Noyes looks to have a real shot of being a consistent podium contender.

Following is Courtesy Noyes Racing…

Kenny Noyes Third on Day1 of Moto2 Testing in Valencia

American Kenny Noyes was third overall after Day 1 of the official three-day IRTA tests at the Circuit of Valencia. Noyes was the first rider to dip under the 1:38 barrier, eventually setting a fastest lap of 1:37.692 on the red, white and black Harris of Team Jack and Jones-Antonio Banderas.

The lap time was 1.2 seconds faster than when Noyes last rode the Harris at Valencia and was good enough to place him third overall behind ex-MotoGP star Toni Elias (Team Gresini), 1:37.530, and current 125 World Champion Julio Simon (Team Aspar), 1:37.548. Only four riders of the 37 lapped under the 1:38 barrier, the fourth being Italian Claudio Corti (Forward Racing) in 1:37.729.

The definitive Honda 600cc engines were delivered to teams over the weekend, distributed by drawing, and fitted for the first time for the IRTA tests. The sealed engines allow only basic maintenance but cannot be tampered with or modified. These engines will be used for the three-day tests at Valencia (March 1-3) and also at the Jerez IRTA tests (March 6-8). Fresh engines will be issued for the final IRTA tests (June 27-29) and also used in the opening round of the new Moto2 World Championship (April 9-11). All teams choose from the same selection of Dunlop tires and use a standard, pump-grade fuel.

A total of 37 MotoGP riders took part in the opening day of Moto2 testing on a warm and sunny day at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit near Valencia. Noyes, who was signed out of the Spanish 1000cc Extreme Championship, is one of a handful of rookies who has never started a Grand Prix in any class. The field consists mainly of riders coming from the 125 and 250 classes, plus several ex-MotoGP stars (Toni Elias, Alex de Angelis, Anthony West, Niccolo Canepa, Gabor Talmacsi and Yuki Takahashi).

Kenny, satisfied with the day’s work, stopped early in order to let the team begin to prepare some changes for tomorrow’s testing.

“Today was good start and we are learning all the time. This Harris chassis is working real good and it is real responsive to changes. There is just a little chatter to work on, but as you go faster you start finding new stuff to work through. The Honda control engine is good…maybe a little less on top than the kit engines we were using, but good power from mid-range and real smooth and linear all the way to the rev-limiter. We tightened the front up a bit today and we’ll see how that works tomorrow. This bike is so different from the big 190-hp Kawasaki 1000cc I raced last year. You are on the edge of the front tire a lot more and corner speed is higher, but what it is really fun is the slipstreaming. I’ll tell you what it is like…it’s like getting a tow down the straight at a dirt track mile. This is gonna be a fun class!”

Moto2 Valencia Day 1 Results
1 Toni Elias (Spain) Gresini Racing, Moriwaki: 1:37.530
2 Julián Simon (Spain) Mafre Aspar, RSV: 1:37.548
3 Kenny Noyes (USA) Jack&Jones-Banderas, Harris: 1:37.692
4 Claudio Corti (Italy) Forward Racing, Suter: 1:37.729
5 Vladimir Ivanov (Russia) Gresini Moriwaki: 1:38:040
6 Yuki Takahashi (Japan) Tech3, Tech3: 1:38:089
7 Yonny Hernández (Columbia) Blusens, BQR:1:38:354
8 Karel Abraham(Czech Republic) Cardion, RSV: AB:1:38:644
9 Anthony West (Australia) MZ Racing, MZ: 1:38:662
10 Niccolo Canepa (Italy) Scot Racing, Scot: 1:38:671