Terol in the points after making up ten positions, Elias out early with crash in opening lap
The Moto2 class opened the action at the German Grand Prix in a reshuffled schedule at Sachsenring. Starting at 11:20am local time, the race was contested in sunny and warm (27ºc) conditions. Marc Márquez pushed hard from the start and led for almost the entirety of the race, although Andrea Iannone kept him honest until suffering a crash. Mika Kallio and Alex De Angelis joined the fight later on, but were unable to get close enough to Márquez. Pol Espargaró added interest with a fight through the field that spices up the title fight.
After two races outside the points, MAPFRE Aspar rider Nico Terol was back in the top fifteen in the Moto2 class. The odds were stacked against him after he had qualified 24th on the grid, but the Spaniard was able to make a steady comeback thanks to his pace and patience. His consistent lap times in the mid-1’26 mark enabled him to gain ten positions and cross the line in fourteenth, giving him two points for his overall tally.
Fellow MAPFRE Aspar rider Toni Elías did not have the race that he wanted in Germany, and was unable to make a comeback of his own – unlike at Assen and Silverstone. Almost knocked off track on the third corner of the opening lap, Elías eventually hit the deck five laps later when on a charge. He went down whilst switching between turns five and six, losing the front of his bike.
14th Nico Terol: “The race was a hard one, because we started from far back, but I am satisfied with our pace. The early laps were tricky because you could feel the nerves on track. I wanted to get a good start so badly that I wheelied a couple of times. I lost a little time early on, but slowly I found my pace and got past some riders. In the warmup I was getting some chattering from the front, which continued in the race. I gave my all on the final laps and could have taken a top ten finish had I been more incisive, so I am happy with that and with my race pace. Getting back into the points is positive and the key at Mugello will be performing well in practice, qualifying well and not having to make up as many places.”
Toni Elías (DNF): “To be honest, I didn’t have much luck in today’s race. Redding boxed me in at turn 3 and it was a miracle that I didn’t crash then. The odds were stacked against me then, because I had lost a lot of positions. I fought back until I reached a fast group, but just as I was overtaking I lost the front and crashed in almost exactly the same spot where I fell on Friday. We aren’t in an easy situation, because I don’t feel comfortable on the bike, but we will keep working in order to find a solution.”
Source: Aspar Team Press Release
