Elias qualifies 6th despite illness

The courage that has defined the career of Toni Elias was on display again today as the Spaniard took a miraculous sixth place in qualifying for the Moto2 race. Toni has had a 39°C fever for the past two days and his cause wasn’t helped today by intense ambient heat. A crash at the end of the session came as little surprise as he struggled to maintain his concentration.

Toni Elias (6° 1’ 46” 368): “I am destroyed! I put a lot in today – maybe too much because I’m not in the best physical shape after two days with such high temperatures. I ended up crashing but overall I think we will be able to put up a fight tomorrow if I’m feeling better. I have to rest now and try to get in the best possible shape for the race. I’m confident we can do it but we’ll have to wait and see how tonight goes.”

Fausto Gresini: “Considering Toni’s condition that was a good session for him. He is in a good grid position and I’m sure if he’s in better physical shape tomorrow he can be fighting for the win. Obviously the crash wasn’t good but his health is a bigger problem right now. Anyway, I think we can be positive and look forward to a good race tomorrow.”

Source: Gresini Racing Moto2