Elias makes up ten positions to finish in the points again, Terol struggling in 20th place
Owing to the time difference between Great Britain and mainland Europe, Moto2 was first up on the Schedule for raceday at Silverstone. Rain was, as it had been all weekend, a constant threat, but thankfully it held off for the duration of the contest. Home riders Redding and Smith started strongest, with Espargaró and Márquez joining the fight. Espargaró moved out in front with eight laps to go, one of only three leaders in the race (Smith, Redding and Espargaró), to take the win. Redding and Márquez joined him on the podium for the British GP.
Whilst yesterday it was but a mere hope and hypothesis, Toni Elías and Nico Terol made comebacks up the order on Sunday. The MAPFRE Aspar Team riders this claimed twelfth and twentieth, respectively, at the British GP. Elías had not felt comfortable in qualifying and had started from twenty-second on the grid but a new chassis, confidence talent took him up to fifteenth on the opening lap. He subsequently had difficulties with other riders over the remaining laps, but held on for a points finish at Silverstone. His four points add to his total in the Moto2 standings.
Although Terol was unable to claim points this time around, he also gained plenty of positions. He moved seven places up the order with a different strategy to his teammate, based on a cautious start and a great improvement in pace for the second half of the race. He eventually placed twentieth.
12th Toni Elías: “Yesterday 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 today and I felt better this 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.”
20th 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 warmup I gained more confidence and we put on a front tyre fotr 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 this 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.”
Source: Team Aspar Press Release
