TOUGH RACE FOR MELANDRI AND ELIAS AT MONTMELO
The Grand Prix of Catalunya ended in disappointing fashion
for the Honda Gresini team.
Toni Elias, contesting the seventh round of the season on
home soil, got a good start to move straight up to fifth place
and establish a fast race pace. Unfortunately, the Spaniard
was forced to retire from the race for a technical problem
when he seemed certain for a good finish.
Marco Melandri also tried to make positions up after starting
from the third row but he struggled with the same problems
he had during practice and could only manage ninth place.
MARCO MELANDRI (9th in the race, 4th in
the championship on 75 points): "We're going through
a rough patch. The team are giving their best, working hard,
but the results just aren't coming. The bike doesn't give
me any confidence and I can't ride it how I want. I'm really
disappointed. We've struggled with the front end all weekend
and after a few laps I lost confidence in it - it was skipping
around and it was really hard to ride. We'll have to make
some drastic changes."
TONI ELIAS (DNF , 9th in the championship
on 45 points): "I'm really disappointed because I was
having a good race. I got a good start and it looked like
5th place was a real possibility until the engine packed up
on the 14th lap. These things happen in racing but I'm really
disappointed because this was my home race in front of all
my fans."
FAUSTO GRESINI: "I think this has been
one of the toughest races for our team. We're in a critical
situation - we need Honda to react and give us a hand so that
we can be compeitive again. The fact that Marco was the second
Honda rider today shows that the riders and the team are giving
absolutely everything to the cause."
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