THE FORTUNA YAMAHA RIDERS PUT IN A GOOD PERFORMANCE ON THE
DIFFICULT SHANGHAI TRACK
The Fortuna Yamaha riders Ruben Xaus and Toni Elias finished
the Grand Prix of China in 10th and 14th position respectively.
Toni made a great start which saw him move into third position
on the opening laps. The ‘rookie’ demonstrated
his true potential, but bad fortune robbed him off the chance
to remain with the lead riders. The authorities decided the
Manresa rider had badly positioned his bike on the starting
grid and imposed a ‘drive-through’ penalty that
saw him have to return to the pit-lane before rejoining the
race. Team-mate Ruben Xaus was thinking only of scoring points
and making up some of the ground lost in the first two races
of the season, and eventually finished in tenth place.
10th Ruben Xaus:
“I am progressing, at least I was able to score some
points and finish in the top ten, although I still owe my
team a lot for the mistakes I made in pre-season. I rode very
well in the warm-up and had a lot of confidence on the damp
track, but I took it easy on the first corner as I did not
want to risk anything. I let a few riders pass me and took
the first few laps easy thinking about conserving my tyres.
In the end that helped me and I was able to lap with times
the same as the lead group, and score some points.”
14th Toni Elias:
“I got away very well and was lapping comfortably for
the first few laps with Rossi and also Gibernaua and Biaggi.
But the race authorities warned me I had to enter the pit-lane
for a penalty because I was not in the right position on the
starting grid. I got confused with the positioning in 250
because in MotoGP you only have three bikes on each row. It’s
devastating, but in the end it was my own fault. I was having
a great race. After the penalty I was able to climb back up
the field a bit but it did not help much.”
Herve Poncharal (Team Manager Fortuna Yamaha):
“Toni was having a great race, but unfortunately the
penalty for his wrong positioning did not allow him to continue
when he had a great rhythm going. It was a real shame! Despite
that, Toni showed his great potential, not only during the
race but throughout the weekend. He was quick both in dry
and wet conditions, that is very important. The potential
is there. As concerns Ruben, he put in a good showing and
that is the second race that he has finished tenth. He rode
a very intelligent race and little by little is showing the
potential he has that everyone knows about. He is adapting
to the M1 and you can see that in the results.”
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