Toni Elias starts WSBK test

MotoGP rider Toni Elias made his World Superbike debut for BMW Italia during the first day of testing at Misano on Tuesday.

The reigning Moto2 world champion and former MotoGP race winner has struggled throughout the 2011 season with LCR Honda, and is considering his options for 2012.

The Spaniard was eleventh fastest out of 13 riders on Tuesday, during which he suffered one fall without harm.

Toni's best lap time was 2.1sec behind former MotoGP team-mate Marco Melandri (Yamaha) but only 1.3sec from the leading BMW of Ayrton Badovini.

Elias was faster than fellow MotoGP race winners Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) and Makoto Tamada (Honda).

BMW Italia is a satellite team - the factory BMW squad of Leon Haslam and Troy Corser were not present.

Testing concludes today (Wednesday) after which Elias will head for this weekend's Aragon MotoGP round. 

Elias is presently 14th in the world championship with a best finish of ninth, in the wet at Jerez.

source: crash.net

Elias 15th at demanding Misano weekend

The Spaniard aboard the RCV number 24 wasn’t happy about his place on the grid at a track where he won the Moto2 race last year, but he enjoyed the first part of the race lapping in the low 1’36 range. After that Elias was not capable to match the pace of the competition because of the front end issues he faced in the previous two days of practice.

Toni Elias: 

“We tried a few adjustments in this morning’s warm up, but we couldn’t get any improvement so we went back to the setting we already knew for the race. I could lap in the low 1’36 range, but after some laps the guys started to run in the 1’35 range and it was impossible to for me to match their pace. In the middle of the race I felt the same issues I felt in practice – I just not have front end confidence. This weekend we didn’t take any steps forward and this is frustrating for me and the team, but we will try to solve this situation in Aragon. This weekend has been a particular one for me and other riders because one year ago we lost a dear friend and a talented rider, so my thoughts are with Shoya Tomizawa’s family.”

LCR Honda press release.

HRC want Dovizioso at LCR Honda

HRC wants Andrea Dovizioso to remain on a Honda next year that they have asked Lucio Cecchinelli to do everything possible to include the Italian in the LCR team in 2012.

Doviszioso has remained loyal to Honda since the early years of his Grand Prix career, including winning the 125GP championship in 2004. "Well, the leaders of HRC have asked me to do everything and more to organise a team for Dovizioso," Cecchinelli said on Moto.it, "It is a project we're working on, but that requires a greater financial commitment."

Having a dismal year so far with Toni Elias, he said: "Meanwhile, we are focussed on trying to straighten out the difficult season we are experiencing. That said, thinking of 2012 when you work with a company like Honda, the pilot did not choose to be alone, but of course you have to agree with the HRC."

Dovi has not been offered a factory RC213V, as that seems to be going to Marco Simoncelli - if they can agree on the contract - despite Andrea outperforming the Gresini rider this season, he currently sits in third in the championship with a chance of taking second from Jorge Lorenzo compared to the ninth in the table for Simoncelli.

Instead HRC are willing to give a bike that isn't unlike the top-spec prototype machines, at the start of the season the technical specifications for all the Honda 1000s are expected to be fairly similar and throughout the season they will ensure that Dovi's bike is constantly updated by the factory.

However, as noted by Andrea himself, this would be a step backwards for the Italian. The goal for finalising the deal was originally set for the end of August but has been given a further 2-3 weeks given that this is an 'exceptional case'.

Should the deal fail an alternative appears to be John Hopkins and a name thrown out by Lucio to persuade Dovi to lower his fee, the Anglo-American is liked by Cecchinello as a talent - having impressed the team manager with his displays in BSB and the wildcard rides for Rizla Suzuki in MotoGP.

Commenting on the status of their RCV for 2012, Lucio added: "Honda is still defining the technical specifications of the bike: for what I know, the RCV will be all the same beginning.

"Then development will start in winter testing, with pieces that will be tested by the two riders and when the pieces are approved, they will come for Dovizioso and Simoncelli, should they be part of Honda's programs.

So, I can not say that we have a factory bike to 100%, but half that with a couple of weeks later than the internal team will have all the necessary updates."

Reportedly one of the reasons why Honda have overlooked Dovi for a factory bike and chosen SuperSic is that they believe the former has plateaued whereas the hairy-one is still on the rise. Have they made the right decision?

source: visordown

Elias in good form at Test in Czech Republic

The Spaniard, who finished in 11th position in Sunday’s 22-lap race, proceeded with the adjustment work on front end issues has has been experiencing and, despite a big crash from which he luckily escaped unhurt, Elias feels more confident ahead next GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the 28th of August.

Toni Elias: 

“Apart from the bad crash, I am quite satisfied about this test session and about my lap time. We have mainly tried to fix our front end issues: some changes did not work, but with small adjustments on the front geometry I could improve my feeling on the bike to get more corner speed. After lunch I was going for another long run and I probably pushed too hard, crashing heavily in the gravel. The bike hit my right leg and I thought my foot was injured, but the x-ray has ruled that out. After that, I was a bit dazed and I preferred to remain in the garage for the rest of the session. Anyway, I think we took another step forward before the next race in Indianapolis.”

LCR Honda press release.

Elias improves finishing 11th in Brno

The Spaniard put in a good performance at the Brno race, Twhich was held in warm conditions and under sunny skies. Elias closed the gap to the top ten group and he is confident that with a few more adjustments to his machinery he can make further steps forward on the testing day at the Brno circuit on Monday.

Toni Elias: 

“Well... My start was not brilliant today because I slipped on a dirty part of the track and couldn't catch the first 5 riders in the first corner which was my goal. After that my pace was quite good but not enough to follow Aoyama, and in the last two laps I had fun battling with Barbera for the 10th position. At the end, he beat me but the most important thing for me is our pace in the race because today we have finally reduced the gap to the leading group. This is a positive step forward for me and the team and we will try to get further improvements tomorrow”.

LCR Honda press release

Elias 12th on the Brno grid

After Friday’s afternoon improvements, LCR Honda rider Toni Elias recorded a best time of 1’58.245 and grabbed12th place on the grid for the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceské republiky race.

This is the best qualifying position so far this year for the Moto2 Reigning World Champion and he is convinced he could have lapped even faster but this morning torrential rain has interrupted his TO DO list to fine tune the RCV.

Toni Elias: 

“Obviously I’m satisfied because this is my best position on the grid so far this year. With the small improvements we gained yesterday, I could ride the bike with more confidence, especially on the front. I had some more things to try this morning but the bad weather interrupted my plan. Anyway, we already decided on the front and rear tyre for tomorrow’s race and we just need to fine tune the bike to confirm our overall package. These small adjustments make me confident for Monday test session as well”.

LCR Honda press release.

Elías finds small afternoon improvements

LCR Honda rider Toni Elías is hopeful that his previous form of winning in Moto2 at Brno in 2010 and premier class podiums in 2008 and 2009 can inspire him this weekend, and prove the turning point of his 2011 season. On Friday the Spaniard registered a best lap time of 1’59.157 across both practice sessions, leaving him 18th on the timesheet.

Toni Elías:

“After the summer break I am happy to ride here in Brno. It’s one of my favourite tracks and in 2008 and 2009 I experienced the podium in the premier class. Unfortunately we have started the weekend with the same issues but we had some small improvements in the afternoon session. Now we must work on that to take another step forward ahead of the qualifying session. Despite this difficult situation I am very motivated and the team is doing a good job to help me.”

Andrea Dovizioso closing on LRC Honda deal

Andrea Dovizioso is edging closer to a switch to the LCR Honda squad for 2012.

Talks are at an advanced stage with the 2009 British Grand Prix winner as HRC gets set to slash its factory-backed Repsol squad from three to two bikes next season.

LCR Honda boss Lucio Cecchinello said:"From our side it is clear that we consider this as the best opportunity for us to make a big step forward. Andrea has already showed that he has top potential and it would be an honour to be able to work with him next season.

"It is quite a complicated operation because Andrea is supported with a factory bike in a factory team and of course he would like to continue to have the best material and a bigger structure than we have at the moment. It is something that we working on and we are proposing and discussing this project with our sponsors. But we are fully committed in working in this direction."

source: MCN

Elias 13th at tricky Laguna, Bostrom enjoys MotoGP debut

On a near perfect summer’s day with air temperature of 23 degrees, LCR Honda MotoGP Team racer Toni Elias finished the 32 lap Californian round in 13th position despite his usual front end issues. His team mate Ben Bostrom had a good start from the last spot on the grid, dropping his lap time by one second after the first lap.

Unfortunately, the American SBK rider went wide into the gravel twice and preferred to enter the garage trying not to crash his RCV no. 23. Now the MotoGP Championship has a break and premier class riders will be back on track on the 14th of August for the Czech Republic GP in Brno.

Toni Elias:

“In the morning warm up, we changed the rear set up of the bike and it felt immediately better. As always, I had a good start but on this track you get stuck if you start from the last row, so I pushed but in the first corner I went a bit wide. I was 12th when I suddenly lost the front running off into the gravel. I rejoined the race but for the rest of the race I felt like I was lapping on a frozen surface. We finished in 13th position but the situation is still very tough for us”.

Ben Bostrom: 

“I had a good start and immediately felt very comfortable on the bike. I improved my lap time by a second over the practice time, so I was very optimistic to see that so early in the race. Because I was riding so much faster, I started to feel uncomfortable in the first corner when I had to shift down because my foot hit the ground and after few laps I made a mistake running off the track into the gravel. It took me 30 seconds to rejoin the race but I wanted to continue, but then on the next lap I had the same problem. So I decided to enter the pits even if the bike was fantastic. Honestly, I was thinking about my next race and didn’t want to crash this bike. Once again, I want to thank MJM, Lucio and all the guys here: it was an incredible experience for me!”

LCR Honda press release.

Bostrom wild card confirmed with livery

LCR HONDA have confirmed that Ben Bostrom will wild card at Laguna Seca riding a star and stripes liveried RC212V.

Bostrom, who won a WSB round as a wildcard at Laguna Seca in 1999, said: "Words can't express how excited I am to get this amazing opportunity to race on my home track in front of the whole world. I have to thank Michael Jordan Motorsports and American Suzuki for allowing this to happen. The collaboration between Lucio, LCR and the MJM team has been terrific. I'm going to get on the GP bike and put it as close to the front as possible. Then I'm going to hop on my Jordan Suzuki bike and try to create even more magic."

The decision to invite the Californian comes from a relationship between Lucio Cecchinello and the Michael Jordan Motorsports that run Bostrom in the AMA series, the Italian commented on the doubling of the privateer team's efforts: “The U.S. GP takes place at one of the most spectacular racetracks in the world. The interest of the American fans of this sport grows more and more from year to year and the spectators are always very enthusiastic.

"Considering that some of our partners are operating in the American market, we thought that we should organize a special event before the summer break. Because of the great relationship between the LCR team and Michael Jordan Motorsports, we decided to invite one of Laguna Seca’s most successful riders to compete for us in the race: Ben Bostrom. Ben will ride with one of our RCVs as a “wild card” rider for only one race, while also taking part in the AMA Superbike race for Michael Jordan Motorsports. I’d like to offer many thanks to the Michael Jordan Motorsports team for the great collaboration and the amazing support.”

Bostrom will ride the spare bike of Toni Elias this weekend, an aim to inspire the wayward Spaniard and increase the visibilty of the sponsor's brand.

source: visordown

Another tough race for Elias at twisty Sachsenring

The reigning Moto2 World Champion worked on getting more feeling and easier handling from the front end of his RCV at the twisty race track but after another good start Elias had to face his usual problems with the rear managing to finish the race in 16th position. Now LCR Team will move straight to Laguna Seca circuit for the USA GP on the 24th of July.

Toni Elias:

“Yesterday we thought we made a good step forward and I was hoping for a better result. But at the beginning of the race with a full tank of fuel when the bike was heavier, I struggled a lot to control it. Suddenly, our usual problems came back again and I started to lose the front in the braking and had no confidence in the rear. I managed to cross the line in 16th position, but obviously I am very frustrated. I don't want to lose my motivation and concentration. We’ll see what's going to happen at Laguna.”

LCR Honda press release.

Bostrom to ride Elias' Honda at Laguna

In a bid to reassure sponsors LCR are drafting Ben Bostrom to ride the second Honda RC212V of Toni Elias at Laguna Seca.

The deal comes on the back of Rizoma launching a shop in Beverly Hills and the Italian bolt-on company are keen with decision to run Bostrom at Laguna Seca.

Bostrom currently rides for the Michael Jordan Suzuki squad in the AMA series, and it is not known whether the Californian will ride double duty with his AMA SBK commitments on the Jordan GSX-R1000 and riding the LCR Honda RC212V. (Hopefully the basketball legend will hang around and consider his own MotoGP team, the Air Jordan logo would be a welcome sight on the bodywork of a prototype machine.)

Being given an ultimatum to turn around his results Tiger Toni unfortunately maintained his form at Sachsenring, and with two falls in the free practice sessions on Friday the team found themselves €100,000 lighter to repair the damages.

The performance of Elias has caused untold problems for Lucio Cecchinello, with neither of the pair happy with the situation. Cecchincello was eager to loan the second bike as numerous candidates were considered for Laguna Seca including: John Hopkins, Sylvain Guintoli, Roger Lee Hayden and Andrea Iannone, after the Moto2 rirder had a positive run aboard the Pramac Ducati in the private test at Mugello.

Apparently Bostrom is being lined-up to continue with LCR Honda for Laguna Seca onwards, major factors that may hinder this appointment is gaining the approval from Suzuki to undertake the signing of the Californian and should it rain during the race, the team and riders will be left stranded without any bikes to swap to.

source: visordown