Cash-strapped Rea to miss Mugello, Catalunya Moto2 rounds

Cash-strapped Moto2 privateer Gino Rea will be forced to miss the upcoming Mugello and Catalunya MotoGP rounds sue to lack of sponsorship funds.

Cash-strapped Moto2 privateer Gino Rea will be forced to miss the upcoming Mugello and Catalunya MotoGP rounds sue to lack of sponsorship funds.

The Londoner made his return to the class at Le Mans and was running as high as 12th in tricky conditions before technical problems set in and he was forced to retire.

His GRR8T squad was created just two months ago with funds from fans and help from the FTR firm who supplied a chassis for the former European Superstock 600 Champion. He will be back in action at Assen but was pleased with his performance in France as he acted as his own crew chief.

"We were guessing a little bit with race set up because of our lack of dry track time. I’m actually glad that I had to work on setting up the bike myself because I’ve learnt so much about how the bike works," said Rea.

"It’s a great opportunity to learn how the bike reacts and what crew chiefs normally do, at Le Mans I was basically my own crew chief. I’m impressed with the FTR chassis, I feel at home on it and it gives me confidence.

I knew I had to get a good start from 31st on the grid and I managed to make up a lot of positions during the first lap, moving into 15th. I got up to 12th position and was battling with Simon, Elias and that group but my bike started to cut out like it was out of fuel.

"I immediately lost positions and then had to pull over because of the danger it presented to myself and those around me. The bike was bogging on the exit of the corners and riders were almost hitting me from behind so I entered the pits. 

"It's frustrating to not finish because of a technical issue as we are here running our own private team on a shoe-string budget against all the big teams. I know we could have finished the race with a strong points scoring result. 

We were mixing it up with the best in the world inside the points and that's big accomplishment for us. It's nice to make that kind of progress in the dry conditions; that’s the biggest positive to take from this.

“We accomplished a lot and it's all thanks to everyone who has helped us over the past months. I want to extend a special thanks to my Dad David, all at FTR, MotoBreaks, the Crawfords, Kev Horne, the Dunphys, ThroughTheWallPaint, Pole Position Travel, ImageDesignCustom, Jap4Performance and AGV. I also want to thank everyone who has supported me through GinoReaClub.com. I am looking forward to getting back out on track at Assen."

By MotoGP desk

Image by GRR8T