ELIAS SHINES TO TAKE SIXTH AS XAUS IS IN THE POINTS AGAIN
FORTUNA YAMAHA rider Toni Elias produced a spectacular performance
in the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix. After a consistent display
in qualifying, the Spanish rider confirmed his potential aboard
the M1 at the brand new Istanbul Park circuit after again
competing on equal terms with the biggest names in the category.
Despite a small mistake that saw him fall back to ninth whilst
running sixth, the Catalan fought back strongly to reclaim
sixth at the chequered flag and finish as the second best
Yamaha in the race. In what is his first year in the class,
Elias has demonstrated he has all the attributes to become
one of the stars of the future. His team-mate Ruben Xaus suffered
an electronic fault on his M1 but responded well to finish
the race in the points in 14th.
TONI ELIAS
Race: 6th
MotoGP Championship: 12th, with 68 points
“I got away well, but it was impossible to keep up
with the rhythm of the top three of four riders – I’m
still not at that level yet. I was going along comfortably
with Checa and we left behind the group who were chasing us.
Then I made a mistake and he got away from me. From that moment
I fought hard and got ahead of Tamada and Barros and, on the
last lap, caught up with Edwards. I got past him two corners
from the end in a section I knew I was quicker than him. This
morning I got up and noticed that the temperature was about
five degrees higher and we decided to use a hard Michelin
tyre during the warm-up and then in the race also. It was
a bit risky, but after five laps of the race they had warmed
up and after that they worked very well. I am very happy with
our progression and I hope to continue like this in the final
race of the season.”
RUBEN XAUS
Race: 14th
MotoGP Championship: 16th, with 51 points
“I had a problem with the clutch; we tried a new one
but it didn’t work too well at the start and I almost
stalled the bike. It was an electronic problem. But after
starting badly I fought my way up through the field and the
fact that my best lap was my last lap says it all. It took
me 12 laps to get past Rolfo because of the straights on this
circuit and in the end I was able to get past Hopkins. I want
to do well in Valencia, the weather was good today and I believe
in Valencia I can do well if I can start better.”
HERVE PONCHARAL, Team Manager Fortuna Yamaha MotoGP
“After qualifying we thought Toni could have a good
race, but you are never sure as at Phillip Island, for example,
we had a problem with tyre selection. Here the temperature
of the track worried us and most of the riders gambled with
tyre choice. Toni chose well and that enabled him to go fast
at the end of the race. When he went off and came back on
in ninth it was a bit of a shock, because we wanted to finish
as high as possible, but he fought incredibly and showed the
determination of a champion to get past a great rider like
Edwards. It was a major step forward, and in his first year
in MotoGP it shows his progression. I am very happy for the
team. As concerns Ruben, he got past Hopkins at the end of
the race and he is always quicker in the second half compared
to the first. There is one race left in Valencia, a home race
for both riders, and we want to get a good result.”
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