Terol and Elias not completely satisfied with Estoril race
The Moto2 race at Estoril took place in dry conditions, opening up the day’s action in a schedule switch made especially for the Portuguese Grand Prix. The riders in the 600cc category provided plenty of entertainment for the sellout crowd, in a spectacle worthy of being the headline attraction.It was another tight contest in theintermediate class, eventually won by World Championship leader Marc Márquez from fellow Spaniard Pol Espargaró and Swiss rider Thomas Luthi, following a last-lap dice between the former duo.
MAPFRE rider Toni Elias fought his way to a creditable 7th place finish, although he was further off the race leaders than he would have liked. The Spaniard had taken off from ninth on the grid, and became involved in a second pack consisting of the likes of Redding, Kallio, Corsi, Rabat and Simón. He had moved up into sixth for three laps at the midway point, but his lack of a perfect base setting led to him conceding the spot by the time the chequered flag was shown. Elías currently occupies eighth place in the World Championship on 19 points.
Nico Terol was fifteenth in the race, having had problems on the opening corner when looking to make his way through. The MAPFRE rider lost nine places after running off track, riding in 26th by the time lap four came around. Showing a renewed confidence in himself, Terol pushed on to make a fantastic comeback, occupying sixteenth by the end. His improved performance could have worked out even better, had it not been for a scare on the final lap that dropped him two places and put the Spaniard out of the points.
7th Toni Elias: “This isn’t the result that I wanted, but it is what it is. I fight and I do what I can. I am more or less in the same spot that I was in at Jerez, albeit just a little bit better. I got a good start, but I lost a lot of time on the first corner. I got stuck with other riders on the opening three laps and lost contact with the leaders. Without much pace, losing touch with the others finishes you off. We have to improve our setup and get on the race pace more. If we have to go elbow to elbow with other riders, then that’s what we will have to do. I was in a group of riders who were all fighting hard. I gained three places at the end, which isn’t bad.”
16th Nico Terol: “I got caught up in a melee on the opening corner. I was feeling good and saw myself moving up the field. I almost collided with another rider, because this bike is more difficult to stop and avoid things, so I ran off the track and had to start again from zero. I had a soft tyre on that allowed me to set a very good pace, around the same as that of Elías and De Angelis, although later on I paid for pushing so hard and my bike gave me a couple of scares. It’s frustrating to have just missed out on the points. I was surprised with my pace, as if we take away the first two laps and the last one –in which I was tired and the bike was sliding around- we would have done even better. We have found a good base setting and now we have to work on the details.”
Source: Aspar Team
