Elias Takes Moto2

Paul Carruthers | May 2, 2010

Gresini Honda’s Toni Elias came back from a multi-rider crash to win the red flag-interrupted Moto2 finale today at the Circuit de Jerez in Spain, the pre-season favorite to take the crown winning his first-ever Moto2 race in the debut season for the class.Elias and seven others were taken down on the second lap by oil from the Technomag-CIP Suter Honda of Qatar Moto2 winner Shoya Tomizawa. Tomizawa and Simone Corsi came together at the Dry Sack Curve, with the Japanese rider crashing and the Italian continuing on. Following the melee, the eight crashers rushed back to the pits for quick repairs on their lone bikes. (Only one machine is allowed in the Moto2 class.)Elias led from the restart, but he didn’t have things easy as several riders, including American Kenny Noyes, took turns at the front of a frantic battle.Noyes and his Jack & Jones entry led for the first time on the sixth lap and he held steadfast until Swiss Thomas Luthi came past on the 11th of 17 laps. Then Luthi and Tomizawa swapped the lead back and forth, setting up a grand finale.The last lap was a good one, with six riders within a second, but it was Elias taking the win by just .190 of a second from Tomizawa. Luthi was third with Yuki Takahashi fourth. Simone Corsi ended up fifth with Sergio Gadea sixth. Noyes ended up seventh – just 2.2 seconds behind Elias – after overworking his front tire.”I am absolutely delighted to have won at Jerez, at my home race in Spain,” Elias said in a team release. “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. 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.”

Moto2 Final

1. Toni Elias (Moriwaki)

2. Shoya Tomizawa (Suter)

3. Thomas Luthi (Moriwaki)

4. Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3)

5. Simone Corsi (Motobi)

6. Sergio Gadea (Pons Kalex)

7. Kenny Noyes (Promoharris)

8. Julian Simon (RSV)

9. Gabor Talmacsi (Speed Up)

10. Yonny Hernandez (BQR)