MotoGP News
Sunday was an historic day for Team Gresini, the team celebraing their 100th podium finish from 249 starts.
This important milestone was reached with a sensational Moto2 victory for Toni Elias at Brno, Round 10 of the MotoGP Championship. Elias continued his brilliant run of form with a dominant second half of the race despite missing Friday´s free practice.
The Spaniard moves a step closer to the first ever Moto2 title although he knows there is still a long way to go and is determined not to lose his concentration amidst the celebrations of a memorable achievement for the team.
Toni Elias says: “I am absolutely delighted! It´s a fantastic day for the team because of the win and because of the 100th podium. To have contributed to such a milestone is really incredible for me. The result today is the fruit of a lot of hard work and it was an important victory in terms of the championship because with Iannone finishing third I was able to extend my advantage at the top a little.”
“I managed to stay calm over the first few laps and then from half distance start making up ground that allowed me to take the win and start the celebrations with Team Gresini.”
Vladimir Ivanov says: “I´m not happy with the race today and there is not much I can say about it other than to congratulate Toni Elias on the win and Team Gresini on their 100th podium.”
Fausto Gresini says: “It is a memorable day because to score our 100th podium with a victory is extra special. The fact we extended our lead in the championship makes it even better. It is an important cushion but there is still a long way to go in the championship and there are a lot of points still available. Obviously this is another important step towards our goal but we cannot afford to relax – we have to keep working and keep trying to produce performances like this one. I´m so happy!”
Moto2 Official Report
A controlled and well-measured ride from standings leader Toni ElÃas delivered the Spaniard’s fourth win of the 2010 campaign at Brno, which also marked the Gresini team’s 100th podium finish in the World Championship.
As opposed to the start of the earlier 125cc contest the Moto2 riders were met with sun as they lined up on the grid, and early in the race there were up to nine riders battling for the lead, amongst them pole man Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP) and Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing), who got off to a great start from the third row.
Arne Tode (Racing Team Germany) crashed out early on but there were few fallers, and ElÃas patiently monitored the situation at the head of the race, sidling up to Tomizawa. Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) was also in the group vying for positions towards the front and the Italian moved into first position as halfway approached.
Iannone threatened to pull away as he has done more than once before this season, but ElÃas recovered a gap of over a second to overtake on lap 13 as Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans STR) became involved in the top-three battle. Unfortunately for the Italian a mechanical failure on the next lap ended his race prematurely after an impressive ride.
The experienced ElÃas started to pull away and Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing) passed Iannone to slot into second on the penultimate lap, a position he held to the finish line. The victorious ElÃas met the chequered flag with an advantage of 2.312s over the Japanese rider to take the 25 points, with Iannone third behind Takahashi by just over six-tenths of a second.
Cluzel and Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) completed the top five, with Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up) completing a solid weekend in sixth. Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Racing) placed 11th, which means Iannone now sits second in the Championship standings at seven points ahead of the Swiss rider. ElÃas’ lead at the top remains strong after nine rounds and he is now 55 points clear.
Pos. | Points | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 25 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 154.9 | 41’51.715 |
2 | 20 | 72 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | JPN | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 154.7 | +2.312 |
3 | 16 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Fimmco Speed Up | Speed Up | 154.7 | +2.959 |
4 | 13 | 16 | Jules CLUZEL | FRA | Forward Racing | Suter | 154.5 | +6.905 |
5 | 11 | 60 | Julian SIMON | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 154.5 | +6.974 |
6 | 10 | 2 | Gabor TALMACSI | HUN | Fimmco Speed Up | Speed Up | 154.4 | +7.024 |
7 | 9 | 6 | Alex DEBON | SPA | Aeroport de Castello – Ajo | FTR | 154.4 | +7.808 |
8 | 8 | 3 | Simone CORSI | ITA | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 154.2 | +11.691 |
9 | 7 | 65 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Viessmann Kiefer Racing | Suter | 153.9 | +15.958 |
10 | 6 | 48 | Shoya TOMIZAWA | JPN | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 153.9 | +15.974 |
11 | 5 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | SWI | Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 | Moriwaki | 153.9 | +16.486 |
12 | 4 | 55 | Hector FAUBEL | SPA | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 153.9 | +16.490 |
13 | 3 | 10 | Fonsi NIETO | SPA | Holiday Gym G22 | Moriwaki | 153.7 | +19.426 |
14 | 2 | 40 | Sergio GADEA | SPA | Tenerife 40 Pons | Pons Kalex | 153.6 | +20.130 |
15 | 1 | 35 | Raffaele DE ROSA | ITA | Tech 3 Racing | Tech 3 | 153.6 | +20.227 |
16 | 77 | Dominique AEGERTER | SWI | Technomag-CIP | Suter | 153.6 | +20.233 | |
17 | 25 | Alex BALDOLINI | ITA | Caretta Technology Race Dept | I.C.P. | 153.3 | +25.738 | |
18 | 8 | Anthony WEST | AUS | MZ Racing Team | MZ-RE Honda | 153.2 | +27.526 | |
19 | 19 | Xavier SIMEON | BEL | Holiday Gym Racing | Moriwaki | 153.2 | +27.711 | |
20 | 63 | Mike DI MEGLIO | FRA | Mapfre Aspar Team | Suter | 153.1 | +28.895 | |
21 | 14 | Ratthapark WILAIROT | THA | Thai Honda PTT Singha SAG | Bimota | 152.7 | +36.263 | |
22 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Suter | 152.2 | +44.281 | |
23 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Blusens-STX | BQR-Moto2 | 152.1 | +46.446 | |
24 | 4 | Ricard CARDUS | SPA | Maquinza-SAG Team | Bimota | 152.0 | +47.620 | |
25 | 80 | Axel PONS | SPA | Tenerife 40 Pons | Pons Kalex | 152.0 | +47.798 | |
26 | 71 | Claudio CORTI | ITA | Forward Racing | Suter | 152.0 | +47.966 | |
27 | 61 | Vladimir IVANOV | UKR | Gresini Racing Moto2 | Moriwaki | 151.9 | +48.499 | |
28 | 59 | Niccolo CANEPA | ITA | RSM Team Scot | Suter | 151.7 | +51.993 | |
29 | 39 | Robertino PIETRI | VEN | Italtrans S.T.R. | Suter | 151.7 | +52.243 | |
30 | 95 | Mashel AL NAIMI | QAT | Blusens-STX | BQR-Moto2 | 151.7 | +53.151 | |
31 | 5 | Joan OLIVE | SPA | Jack & Jones by A.Banderas | Promoharris | 151.7 | +53.478 | |
32 | 53 | Valentin DEBISE | FRA | WTR San Marino Team | ADV | 151.3 | +1’00.080 | |
33 | 88 | Yannick GUERRA | SPA | Holiday Gym G22 | Moriwaki | 150.8 | +1’08.242 | |
Not Classified | ||||||||
44 | Roberto ROLFO | ITA | Italtrans S.T.R. | Suter | 154.5 | 6 Laps | ||
11 | Yusuke TESHIMA | JPN | JIR Moto2 | Motobi | 151.4 | 8 Laps | ||
52 | Lukas PESEK | CZE | Matteoni CP Racing | Moriwaki | 151.1 | 11 Laps | ||
81 | Patrik VOSTAREK | CZE | Vector Kiefer Racing | Suter | 146.5 | 18 Laps | ||
9 | Kenny NOYES | USA | Jack & Jones by A.Banderas | Promoharris | 142.1 | 19 Laps | ||
Not Starting | ||||||||
41 | Arne TODE | GER | Racing Team Germany | Suter | 0 Lap |