Elias dedicates fantastic victory to late Shoya Tomizawa

He wasn’t able to do it at Aragon but today Toni Elias was finally able to dedicate victory to Shoya Tomizawa at the late Japanese rider’s home circuit. It was a victory built on determination and hard work in every practice session, which enabled the Spaniard to control the race ahead of his compatriot Julian Simon. The Team Gresini rider’s seventh victory of the season at the home of Moriwaki moves him a step closer to the title, which he could seal in Malaysia next week.

Toni Elias (1st) “I am really happy with this win, which moves us closer to the title. We have worked well all weekend and it was an important victory for me because I wanted to dedicate it to Tomizawa. I would have liked to have done it at Aragon but maybe winning Shoya’s home race for him is an even bigger tribute. I took control of the race pretty early but Simon didn’t make life easy for me. In the end I managed to hold him off and I’m really pleased. I am also happy to have won for Moriwaki at their home circuit. It has been a great day.”

Fausto Gresini “That was an exciting race and a fantastic result. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy for Toni and we were worried because for us it was more important to finish the race in a decent position than to win it but Toni was determined to take the victory. We told him to stay calm and to think of the championship but he was desperate to win this one for Tomizawa and also for Moriwaki. As usual Toni has left us all astounded with a performance that came despite the intense pressure of a strong rival like Simon, who was in great form today. It was a real test of strength but a seventh victory of the season is great reward for his hard work and that of the whole team.”

Source: Gresini Racing Moto2