Elías and LCR Honda end season with top-ten result

LCR Honda’s Toni Elías started from 13th on the grid in his final race with the team at Valencia and ended in tenth in a tricky last round of the campaign, as difficult conditions made it hard out on track.

Toni Elías:
“First it was very tough to line up without Marco (Simoncelli) today and we will always remember him. I took an incredible start from 13th spot and I could have gone for fifth place but Nicky (Hayden) got in my way and he was involved in the crash in the first corner. From the beginning to the middle of the race we had a good pace, just 1.5s slower than Casey (Stoner) at the front but later on, when it started to rain, I did not feel safe as I started to lose rear grip in corner entry so my lap time dropped down and I managed to finish tenth. This season was very tough for me but in the mean time I learnt a lot. Now I hope to start with a new challenge with more luck and I also wish the same to Lucio and the LCR Team.”

Lucio Cecchinello, Team Manager:
“First this season will be remembered for the tragic loss of Marco who will remain in our hearts forever because he was a pure talent and a charismatic guy. This season was tougher than what we expected but we learnt a lot from the difficulties and we will keep on working at 100% as always. I must thank Toni because he always tried hard to find a solution and the team too. I wish him the best for his future career because he is a tough rider and a guy with a huge heart, a contagious smile and full of human worth.”

The team also confirmed on Monday that 2011 Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl would test the Honda RC212V at Valencia on Tuesday.

Cecchinello added: “In a couple of days, together with our sponsors and Honda, we will take our final decision about the rider who will line up with us in 2012. In the mean time we have welcomed the request of HRC to give our structure and our RC212V bike to the new Moto2 World Champion Stefan Bradl, and we hope he will enjoy the MotoGP experience.”