MotoGP news
Elías overjoyed with 'fantastic' third
17 August 2009 / Results / PhotosSpain's Toni Elías joined compatriot Dani Pedrosa and race winner Valentino Rossi on the podium after the Czech Grand Prix on Sunday. After qualifying fourth quickest and dropping to fifth in the morning warm-up session, the Honda Gresini rider was delighted to come away from Brno with a trophy.
It was the best race of the season for the Honda satellite team as Gresini bikes came home third with Elías and eighth with Alex de Angelis. "This is a fantastic result for me," the former said after the race. "The team have done a great job all weekend - from the first session on Friday right up to the end of qualifying we have been improving the bike and we were able to put ourselves in the position to capitalise on Jorge's crash."
 |
| Elías is nine points away from the championship top ten |
As Lorenzo retired from the lead of the race for the second consecutive event, the happiest man on the podium had been promoted from an already strong fourth position. "It was like a present to me because we never expected to be able to break up the top three riders," Toni admitted. "They have been on a different level all weekend but we know anything can happen in racing."
Marco Melandri will be joining MotoGP rookie Marco Simoncelli at Gresini next year, leaving both current riders out of a ride as Elías concluded: "Everybody knows that my future is unclear at the moment but I hope this sends out the right message; I am a rider who finishes on the podium year in, year out and I will keep pushing to show my worth at Indianapolis.
"I know my team will back me up because they have worked so hard for me so far and I want to thank them for that. We want to keep this going until the end of the season."
more news
- 24 Nov.
- 20 Nov.
- 18 Nov.
- 17 Nov.
- 13 Nov.
- 11 Nov.
- 10 Nov.
- 09 Nov.
- 08 Nov.
- 07 Nov.
- 06 Nov.
- 05 Nov.
- 04 Nov.
- 03 Nov.
Homepage
Valencia