FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS TAKE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH IN QATAR
FORTUNA HONDA riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias today
took seventh and eighth placed finishes respectively in the
second race of the 2006 season held at the Losail circuit
in Qatar.
Melandri, runner-up in last year's championship, endured
some set-up problems but rode a fine race in which he staged
an intense battle with Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. After struggling
in qualifying, the Italian adapted well to the windy conditions
and put in a much-improved performance.
Team-mate Toni Elias, who did not make a good start, was
involved in an incident of his own, along with Pedrosa, when
the pair were behind John Hopkins early on. The American's
bike began to lose oil and both Spaniards were forced to slow
right down to ensure they did not skid. It meant they lost
important ground on the leading riders, which they were not
able to make up.
Despite their mixed weekends, the FORTUNA HONDA riders are
looking forward to the next round of the championship in Turkey
on April 30.
MARCO MELANDRI - 7th; 43'34.013 (+ 11'784) 5th in
the championship on 21 points:
"It was a really difficult race. I got a good start and
tried to make up some positions but I made a mistake towards
the end of the race that cost me a position. I had a really
good battle with Dani Pedrosa, he was passing me in the straight
but I was able to get him back on the brakes. I'm still not
riding as I would like to - tomorrow we'll stay for a day
of tests and hopefully it can help us take another step forward."
TONI ELIAS - 8th; 43'41.070 (+ 19'481) 7th in the
championship on 20 points:
"We've done a great job over the two days of practice
and I was hoping for more than this today. I didn't get a
good start and I paid the price for that. Then Hopkins' engine
began to drop oil and I had to shut off the throttle, sending
me even further back. My visor was covered in oil and after
losing contact with the lead group it became a really hard
race for me. I'm disappointed because I know I could have
had a nice race today."
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