MotoGP’s newest team Ilmor was officially launched on Thursday 12th October at a jam packed press conference in Estoril. The team, headed up by Mario Illien in conjunction with chassis designer Eskil Suter, unveiled the radical looking X³ in front of the international media as Ilmor make their debut at the Portuguese leg of the World Championship.
Mario Illien, Owner, Ilmor:“Over the years I have closely followed MotoGP, I had an interest in it and always tried to attend at least a couple of races every season – I was instantly fascinated by the sport and the technology the teams use, for me it was particularly interesting when the teams switched to four-stroke engines, so it’s something I have always liked and I was looking for a way to participate. I would like to thank Carmelo Ezpeleta (CEO Dorna) for giving us this fantastic opportunity to come here with the X³, it’s very early in the project programme for us and we are on a steep learning curve so please don’t expect too much – we are here in Estoril this weekend to learn and most importantly prepare ourselves for next year to be as competitive as possible.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO Dorna Sports:“For us the presentation of Ilmor as a new MotoGP team is very important. I have been talking with Mario about this for years and I even visited the Ilmor facility in Northampton - I was so impressed by the quality and the technology they have there but I wasn’t surprised given Ilmor’s background in other motorsports. It’s a very important moment for MotoGP, Ilmor is a very prestigious engineering company to have taken the decision to come to MotoGP and we wish them all the best. Of course they have a lot of hard work ahead of them compared to the well established teams but given all of Ilmor’s experience I think they will have a good chance next year to battle the other teams, to be in the middle or maybe even better than that. I wish them all the best.”
Related Linkswww.ilmor.co.uk
