Toni Elias - Photo Credit: Aspar Team
Toni Elias was left disappointed after crashing out of his home Grand Prix at Catalunya yesterday. The Spaniard was running with the leaders early in the race but slipped back as his Suter started to lose rear grip. His race eventually came to an end with a crash four laps from home and he admitted he'd pushed too hard in an attempt to overcome the problem.
“I am a little disappointed, because I expected more from this home race. When the tyres had more grip on the opening laps, I was able to stick with the lead riders. I was even able to slot into second and things were looking good, but in the end there was a turn for the worst and I crashed out. It is a shame, because we had done a very good job all weekend, but we never found the necessary grip on the rear. I gave everything in the race, trying to follow riders in order to get as high up the order as possible, but pushing too hard meant that I crashed. We aren't going to get down about it though. The positive from this weekend is that we have taken another step forward and we are progressively getting closer to the lead riders.”
Mapfre Aspar teammate Nicolas Terol continued his development in the intermediate class with a second consecutive points finish, coming home in fifteenth. The 125cc world champion is pleased to see things moving in the right direction but admitted he was hoping for more than a solitary point.
“At Le Mans we got points and we have done the same here, but we were expecting more. Nonetheless, these results keep us optimistic and we can see that we are improving. I got a good start, but in the second sector I ran wide and a few riders got past me, which I think was partially the key moment of the race. If I had stuck with the group that I was in before making that mistake, then, we could have fought for the top ten. I am satisfied with the start and, although I made an early mistake, I was able to hold my nerve and maintain a good pace throughout the race. This weekend hasn't been easy but we can look back on it positively now. Taking points is good for us and we have taken a step forward, so we have to keep working in order to keep this evolution going. We need to get better in qualifying in order to avoid the early traffic, and also I have to adapt completely to the slides of a Moto2 bike.”
