TONI ELIAS JUST MISSES THE PODIUM IN JEREZ
The 2006 MotoGP World Championship kicked off on Sunday in
Jerez, and in some style. In front of a captivated Spanish
crowd, the MotoGP riders put on a spectacular show in the
first round of the season. Spanish FORTUNA HONDA rider Toni
Elias, who produced a superb ride, once again demonstrated
his undoubted potential at this level. After a very close,
bunched start, Elias came together with Valentino Rossi after
breaking sharply and sent the reigning World Champion crashing
to the floor. Rossi got back up, but was some way behind the
field after his fall, while Elias too lost a lot of places
after the collision. It was then that the young Spaniard started
his charge through the field, showing great skill and determination
to eventually take fourth spot. His team-mate Marco Melandri
finished one place further back in fifth and declared himself
satisfied after putting in a lot of hard work over the course
of the weekend. After lapping with the leading riders at the
beginning of the race, the Italian rode a consistent race
and settled for fifth place and some very important championship
points. The championship will now head towards Qatar for the
next round in two weeks’ time.
TONI ELIAS 4th - 4th with 13 points
“It was a really tough race, but one of the best of
my life. I feel sorry for Valentino, but it was a really close
start and we all reached the end of the straight bunched together.
I was right next to Shinya Nakano and when I tried to avoid
him I clipped Valentino. I went to apologise to him after
the race although these things do happen in racing. After
that I managed to find a good rhythm and was able to fight
back. It was a real shame that after all that effort I could
not get on to the podium, but I’m still really happy.
I think the spectators really enjoyed it, but I want to thank
them for being the best fans in the world.”
MARCO MELANDRI 5th - 5th with 11 points
“It was a very difficult race, but at least we have
taken some very important points. The changes we made to the
bike during the warm-up did not work as well as hoped s we
took a bit of a backwards step. I made a good start but did
not want to push too hard and risk the points I had. I am
still not very comfortable with the front end of the bike
so we’ll have to work on that. I am confident and HRC
are giving us lots of support, the test sessions tomorrow
and the day after will help us improve my feeling with the
bike.”
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