FTR Moto Ltd was a British motorcycle parts and frame manufacturer. The name was an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

for ''Fabrication Techniques Racing Motorcycles''.

History

The company was founded in 1994 as ''Fabrication Techniques'' by Steve Bones and in 1995 helped

Kenny Roberts Kenneth Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951, in Modesto, California) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship ...

and TWR to build the chassis for their ''Modenas KR3'' (later ''Proton KR3'') motorcycle. The firm then supplied several teams in Grand Prix motorcycle racing and

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

and in 2001 contributed to the

Petronas FP1 The Petronas FP1 is a liquid cooled inline three-cylinder homologation special sport bike that was produced in 2003 by Petronas. Originally developed jointly by Petronas and Sauber Petronas Engineering as the Petronas GP1 989cc prototype to compe ...

chassis.

Motorcycle chassis manufacturing

The FTR Moto brand, related to motorcycle racing chassis production, was launched in 2009. The company constructed a chassis for the first season of the newly established

Moto2 Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...

class in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. The first victory by the manufacturer was achieved by

Karel Abraham Karel Abraham (born 2 January 1990) is a retired motorcycle racer from the Czech Republic. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , riding in the 125cc, 250cc, Moto2 and MotoGP classes, with the exception of 2016, when he raced in ...

in the 2010 Valencian Grand Prix. For 2012 season entered also the then-new

Moto3 Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of ...

class and the top class, MotoGP, as a manufacturer. In the 2012 Qatar Grand Prix

Maverick Viñales Maverick Viñales Ruiz (; born 12 January 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. Viñales is the 2013 Moto3 World Champion, currently riding in MotoGP for the Aprilia Racing team, after five seasons as a MotoGP factory rider with the ...

won the first Moto3 race aboard a

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

-powered FTR chassis, while in MotoGP the company followed the

Claiming Rule Teams The 2012 MotoGP World Championship season was the 64th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Casey Stoner started the season as the defending World Champion, while Honda was the defending Manufacturers' Champion. In the premier MotoGP ...

' regulations and supplied its chassis to the Honda-powered

Gresini Racing Gresini Racing is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name Gresini Racing MotoGP as a Ducati satellite team, in the Moto2 World Championship as Team Gresini Moto2, and the MotoE World Cup as Felo Gresin ...

's bike and to Avintia Racing Kawasaki-powered ''BQR'' (also named ''BQR-FTR'') machines.

Demise

In 2012 the company was sold for over £400,000 to the ''Heads of the Valleys Development Company'', a private business trying to promote the possibility of establishing an entirely new motor racing circuit, provisionally known as the Circuit of Wales.FTR Moto folds after Circuit of Wales buy out
''

Motorcycle News ''MCN'' or ''Motor Cycle News'' is a UK weekly motorcycling newspaper published by Bauer Consumer Media, based in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It claims to be "the world’s biggest weekly motorcycle newspaper". The title was founded in lat ...

'', 18 November 2016, Retrieved 26 August 2017 The business declared substantial losses each year since purchase in 2012 and had stopped producing frames. Motorcycle News reported in 2016 that the new owners wanted production transferred to Wales, and had envisaged a British-built motorcycle, with a British rider, racing on a new British track. In late 2016 the business entered insolvency, with liabilities believed to be over £500,000. As of June 2017, administrators Lucas Johnson had instructed a marketer to advertise FTR's

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

assets for sale,Notice timeline for FTR MOTO LIMITED, Appointment of Administrators
''The Gazette'', 3 November 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2017 including "Goodwill Rights in the FTR Moto Brand" and "Rights in the Registered Trade Mark and Unregistered Trade Marks".IP assets of FTR Moto
Metis Partners, 27 June 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017 FTR went into liquidation in May 2018.Notice timeline for FTR MOTO LIMITED, Appointment of Liquidators
''The Gazette'', 28 May 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2021

References

Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1994 Motorcycle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom {{motorcycle-racing-stub