Moto2 Results
An eventful Moto2 race saw Toni Elías take his first Grand Prix motorcycle racing victory since his win in Estoril back in 2006 after a shortened 17-lap contest following a pile-up on the second lap of the original race.
Toni Elias says: "I am absolutely delighted to have won at Jerez, at my home race in Spain. It is a great satisfaction for me, and I think also for my team and for Fausto Gresini. We worked very well yesterday to find a good setup that would enable us to at least be in the leading group, and I´m happy with how that went. We didn´t have the setup to win yesterday, nor to be part of the front pack, but this morning we tried out a few solutions that proved to be crucial in the race."
He continued: "It was still difficult, but we took a risk and we won. I am very happy to have given the victory to Team Gresini, after all that we achieved together in MotoGP, particularly Estoril 2006. We have had a difficult last month, and I personally needed this success. Above all, I´m happy for the team, who have worked tirelessly to give me the best bike possible. It is a great satisfaction to give Team Gresini this victory; they deserve it."
Fausto Gresini (Elias Team Manager) says: "It was a beautiful feeling to get the win with Toni at his home race, in front of all his fans. The race was tough, but Toni left it all out there. We knew that it wouldn´t be easy, because Toni hasn´t been fully fit after his accident and is only recently back after surgery, but he was able to overcome it all because he wanted the win so much. It is a personal triumph, and we are very happy because of it. We always believed in Toni and his success today confirms that his seventh place in MotoGP last year was no coincidence. He deserved that and he deserved his win today."
A coming together between Simone Corsi and Shoya Tomizawa at the Dry Sack corner saw the Japanese rider slide out and deposit fuel on the track surface, which brought down a number of following riders. The race was red flagged and then restarted 30 minutes later, after some frantic work in pit lane to repair the bikes that had been involved in the crash.
With 42 riders fighting for position and all lapping within one second of each other more crashes were inevitable, with Karel Abraham, Andrea Iannone and Joan Olivè all early fallers.
Kenny Noyes was the first rider to get to the front and then try to gap the pursuing pack but, try as he might, the American simply couldn’t escape from the clutches of Toni Elias, Thomas Lüthi and championship leader, Tomizawa. With six laps to go, nine riders were still in with a chance of victory.
Overtaking moves were not in short supply as the frontrunners constantly pushed one another, and as the final laps approached Elias, Tomizawa, Lüthi and Takahashi weree nose to tail.
To the delight of the Spanish crowd it was Elías who pulled off a double overtake to take the chequered flag, 0.190s ahead of Tomizawa who maintains his Championship lead with his podium finish. Lüthi, at a further seven-thousandths behind completed the top three in a fantastic grandstand finish, as he moved into third place in the overall standings.
Takahashi and Corsi both finished inside the top five. Sergio Gadea followed Corsi home, meaning the top six riders were all former Grand Prix winners. Noyes, Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar), Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up), and Yonny Hernández (Blusens-STX) completing the top ten.
Moto2 Results – Round 2
1. Toni Elias 29m58.726s SPA HONDA Gresini Racing Moto2
2. Shoya Tomizawa +0.190s JPN HONDA Technomag-CIP
3. Thomas Luthi +0.261s SWI HONDA Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2
4. Yuki Takahashi +0.558s JAP HONDA Tech 3 Racing
5. Simone Corsi +1.449s ITA HONDA JiR Moto2
6. Sergio Gadea +1.496s SPA HONDA Tenerife 40 Pons
7. Kenny Noyes +2.215s USA HONDA Jack & Jones by A.Banderas
8. Julian Simon +2.576s SPA HONDA Mapfre Aspar Team
9. Gabor Talmacsi +3.825s HUN HONDA Fimmco Speed Up
10. Yonny Hernandez +6.691s COL HONDA Blusens-STX
