Tony Elias stands in for injured rider Héctor Barberà at the 10th round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship at Laguna Seca circuit.
A difficult start for the Spaniard who was in 16th position when the rider in front of him crash making him lose valuable tenths while riding into the gravel. Tony was able to re-join the race but unfortunately when he was trying to catch he made a mistake in breaking a little too late causing him to lose the front and sliding into the gravel.
Despite the result, the Pramac Racing Team ended this weekend with a positive feeling. Thanks to two days of full work with the Pramac Racing crew, Tony was able improve progressively lap after lap, increasing his confidence with his Ducati.
From the first free practice session to the qualifying he lowered his best lap time by almost two seconds, with a personal fast lap in 1’23.898, which assured him the 17th position on the grid for today’s 32-lap race of the U.S. Grand Prix. Even if he is still far from the fastest riders, the qualifying result was encouraging knowing that Elias has not ridden a Ducati since the 2008 season. Unfortunately Tony finished his race too early to allow him to demonstrate his potential with the Ducati.
In the next two weeks Héctor Barberà will be continuing his rehabilitation and evaluated by Dr, Mir, who will will evaluate the physical progress that he is making after his leg surgery to repair the fractures left tibia and fibula.
The Pramac Racing Team in agreement with Héctor will come to a decision about who will ride the Pramac Ducati machine at the upcoming 11th round that will take place in Indianapolis in two weeks time.
Tony Elias –Not classified
“I am very sorry for how this weekend ended. Up until my crash I was gaining positions. I have to be happy with the progress we made in only three days with the Ducati. Every time I sat on the bike I managed to increase my confidence with the bike and I was able to improve my lap times, even if I was still learning the bike’s reaction on this untraditional track. Today I didn’t made a brilliant start, but I felt good. Unfortunately Pirro crashed in front of me, I briefly rode into the gravel but I was able to regain the confidence with my Ducati. I was planning to catch the riders ahead, but I braked too late and I lost the front finding myself off track. To conclude this weekend with a crash leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but I hope to have the opportunity in the near future to collaborate again and continue to improve. I would like to thank the Pramac Racing Team for allowing me to be part of the team at this Laguna GP, thanks for a wonderful experience.”
Pramac Ducati Racing Team Press Release
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