LCR Honda Team rider Toni Elias faces three race deadline – MotoGP news
LCR Honda team rider Toni Elias has been given a three-race deadline to perform or face the axe from the team.
The upcoming events of MotoGP in Germany, United States and Czech Republic will be his final venues to prove his worth in premier class racing world. At Mugello, he qualified at 16th place for the Italian GP. Continuing the bad form, he was the
last rider at 15th place to finish the race at the team’s home event.
LCR Honda team press officer, Oscar Haro said, “Mugello was a disaster. Toni has realised that it didn't go well. From Germany, [we go] back to the settings that HRC and our crew chief will decide and Toni to assume his role as pilot and technician. The
RC212V has more than proven to be super competitive.”
Apparently, the last call for Toni Elias was considered to be at Mazda Raceway, Laguna Seca, American GP but the decision was changed by the team boss, Lucio Cecchinello. He announced the ultimatum for Elias after not letting him participate in the official
Mugello test, conducted at Mugello after the race day. It was also speculated that Elias’ contract was immediately terminated.
The Spanish rider was appointed by the MotoGP team after his successive 2010 season in Moto2 class. Elias is also being supported by Dorna sports to retain his position in premier class in order to prove the credibility of Moto2. He has been struggling since
the start of the season to get in the top ten positions. Recently he has been able to improve his pace but still lacks the ability to rank himself in top ten places.
Even after HRC’s support by providing new chassis for his Honda RC212V, he was not fast enough. Looking at the machine which has been staggeringly fast in the 2011 season, the rider is expected to avail the full potential of the bike.
The team sponsors are also displeased with Elias’ performance and are making it more difficult for him to keep his place. In another speculation, the former American MotoGP rider, John Hopkins has been contacted by LCR Honda to ride a second bike for the
team, which could increase the competitiveness within the team.
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