Mapfre Aspar team fights back at Silverstone

2010 Moto2™ World Champion Toni Elías had a disappointing qualifying in 22nd, yet a new chassis for Sunday, which gave the rider more confidence, saw him make it up to 15th on the opening lap. Further battles saw him move up to his final position of 12th.

His teammate, current 125cc World Champion Nico Terol, also had a less than ideal qualifying in 27th, yet working with a different tyre on race day was able to make up seven positions to finish 20th.

Elías is currently 13th and Terol 23rd in the Moto2™ championship rankings.

Toni Elías

"On Saturday we had a morning crash that meant I didn't feel comfortable in qualifying, so that's why I was so far down on the grid. We changed the chassis for Sunday and I felt better in the morning. We improved our pace and our fastest lap in the race, and I gained a lot of places on the opening lap. However, starting from so far back meant that I got embroiled in the typical tussles of Moto2, which all end up costing you time. We knew that this could happen before we started, but we fought well for twelfth. It is a shame about qualifying, as maybe I could have been part of the second group and taken sixth or seventh."

Nico Terol

"The team have supported me the entire weekend, but I still found it hard to go fast here; the wind was a big factor. In the warm-up I gained more confidence and we put on a front tyre for the race that we hadn't tried before. On the opening laps I was lacking a little pace with this new rubber and I didn't have the right feel when I opened the throttle. I felt better when it had warmed up and I am satisfied with my pace during the second half of the race. I passed a few riders but wasn't able to get into the points. It is a pity to end the weekend so low down in the standings. We have to be positive and focus on Assen now, which is a track that I love. We will get back into the points."