Toni Elías

Toni Elías
Elías at the 2010 Italian Grand Prix.
Nationality	Spanish
Born	March 26, 1983 (1983-03-26) Manresa, Catalonia
Current team	Aspar Team Moto2
Bike number	24
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 2005–2009, 2011 Manufacturers Yamaha, Honda, Ducati Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 96 1 6 0 3 562 Moto2 World Championship Active years 2010 Manufacturers Moriwaki-Honda Championships 1 (2010) 2010 Championship position 1st (271 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 17 7 8 3 2 271 250cc World Championship Active years 2002–2004 Manufacturers Aprilia, Honda Championships 0 2004 Championship position 4th Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 48 7 20 5 6 603 125cc World Championship Active years 1999–2001 Manufacturers Honda Championships 0 2001 Championship position 3rd Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 35 2 9 4 1 243

This name uses Spanish naming customs; the first or paternal family name is Elias and the second or maternal family name is Justícia.

Antonio "Toni" Elias Justícia (born March 26, 1983 in Manresa, (Catalonia, Spain) is a professional motorcycle racer and inaugural champion of the Moto2 World Championship. He is the third member of the Elías family to compete in motorcycle racing. He has a single MotoGP victory.

Career

Elías testing at Sepang in 2007.

Elías started racing in the 125cc World Championship in 2000 at the age of 17, finishing 3rd in 2001 and taking his first win in the Dutch TT at the prestigious Assen circuit. He went to 250s for 2002, finishing 4th that year, 3rd a year later, and 4th in 2004.

In 2005 he entered MotoGP for Fortuna Yamaha. In 2006 and 2007 his Fortuna backing has got him a ride for Gresini Honda alongside 2005 runner-up Marco Melandri. He only took one podium in 2006, albeit his first, and so far only, win in the top category. After a podium in the first half of 2007 he crashed at Assen, breaking his leg, sabotaging his season. He managed to make a return to the podium at Motegi.

After spending the 2008 season with the Alice Ducati team, Elias returned to Gresini Honda for 2009, replacing Shinya Nakano to ride alongside Alex de Angelis.

For 2010 he moved down to the new Moto2 class, on a Moriwaki bike for Gresini. He was competitive in pre-season testing before a heavy crash threatened to derail his status as title favourite. He was victorious at Le Mans after a chaotic race also led by Alex Debón and Jules Cluzel. He claimed the lead in the championship following this win, and would not relinquish it for the remainder of the season, clinching the inaugural Moto2 World Championship at the Malaysian Grand Prix with three rounds to spare.

He returned to the MotoGP grid in 2011 with Team LCR, riding a Honda RC212V. 2011 heralded his worst season in the MotoGP class, scoring only 61 points and finishing 15th in the Championship. He left Team LCR, and will return to Moto2 in 2012 with the Aspar Racing Team, a team he rode for in the 125cc class.

First MotoGP victory

Elías won his first premier class race on October 15, 2006 with a fantastic final lap of the Portuguese MotoGP at Estoril. Elías had started the lap in third place, but an aggressive braking move into Curva 1, moved him past Valentino Rossi and the then-leader Kenny Roberts, Jr. into the lead. He actually clipped Roberts while braking, and this loss of momentum meant that Rossi passed Roberts for second position. These positions held until the chicane (turns 9 and 10) near the end of the lap. It looked like Elías had left the door wide open for Rossi and sure enough, the reigning world champion dived to the inside to pass the Spaniard. However, Elías would keep pressuring Rossi, trying to pass him on the run towards turns 11 and 12. Rossi had the line and kept the position, and it seemed as if Rossi would be 13 points clear of title rival Nicky Hayden going to the final round in Valencia. But Elías kept the speed up through the thirteenth and final turn, and tucked in behind Rossi, to draft him alongside the Italian. In a finish that needed a video replay, Elías was given the race by just 0.002 seconds. It was one of the closest finishes in the history of MotoGP, and a great way for Elías to secure his maiden premier class victory. This victory helped secure him a contract extension, which was doubtful prior to the win at Estoril, with Honda and Fausto Gresini for the 2007 Moto GP season.

As it turned out, Elías' victory cost Rossi five points, which was the exact number of points that Rossi would finish behind Hayden in the Championship standings.

Grand Prix career statistics

Elías on a Honda RC212V at the 2009 Dutch TT.

All statistics according to MotoGP.com

By season

Season	Class	Motorcycle	Team	Race	Win	Podium	Pole	FLap	Pts	Plcd
1999	125cc	Honda RS125		3	0	0	0	0	2	33rd
2000	125cc	Honda RS125		16	0	0	0	0	24	20th
2001	125cc	Honda RS125		16	2	9	4	1	217	3rd
2002	250cc	Aprilia RS250		16	1	5	0	1	178	4th
2003	250cc	Aprilia RS250		16	5	7	5	4	226	3rd
2004	250cc	Honda RS250		16	1	8	0	1	199	4th
2005	MotoGP	Yamaha YZR-M1	Tech 3	14	0	0	0	0	74	12th
2006	MotoGP	Honda RC211V	Gresini Racing	15	1	1	0	1	116	9th
2007	MotoGP	Honda RC212V	Gresini Racing	15	0	2	0	2	104	12th
2008	MotoGP	Ducati GP8	Pramac Racing	18	0	2	0	0	92	12th
2009	MotoGP	Honda RC212V	Gresini Racing	17	0	1	0	0	115	7th
2010	Moto2	Moriwaki MD600	Gresini Racing	17	7	8	3	2	271	1st
2011	MotoGP	Honda RC212V	Team LCR	17	0	0	0	0	61	15th
Total				196	17	43	12	12	1679

By class

Class	Seas	1st GP	1st Pod	1st Win	Race	Win	Podiums	Pole	FLap	Pts	WChmp
125 cc	1999–2001	1999 Spain	2001 France	2001 Dutch	35	2	9	4	1	243	0
250 cc	2002–2004	2002 Japan	2002 Dutch	2002 Pacific	48	7	20	5	6	603	0
MotoGP	2005–2009, 2011	2005 Spain	2006 Portugal	2006 Portugal	96	1	6	0	3	562	0
Moto2	2010	2010 Qatar	2010 Spain	2010 Spain	17	7	8	3	2	271	1
Total	1999–Present				196	17	43	12	12	1679	1

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Bike	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Pos	Pts
1999	125 cc	Honda	MAL	JPN	SPA 21	FRA	ITA	CAT Ret	NED	GBR	GER	CZE	IMO	VAL 14	AUS	RSA	BRA	ARG			33rd	2
2000	125 cc	Honda	RSA 23	MAL 17	JPN 17	SPA 16	FRA 17	ITA 15	CAT 8	NED Ret	GBR 14	GER Ret	CZE 14	POR 17	VAL 15	BRA 14	PAC 12	AUS 12			20th	24
2001	125 cc	Honda	JPN 16	RSA 18	SPA 13	FRA 3	ITA 4	CAT 2	NED 1	GBR 2	GER 2	CZE 1	POR 3	VAL 2	PAC Ret	AUS 3	MAL 6	BRA 4			3rd	217
2002	250 cc	Aprilia	JPN 11	RSA 16	SPA 10	FRA 6	ITA 4	CAT 10	NED 2	GBR 3	GER 6	CZE 3	POR 13	BRA 5	PAC 1	MAL 2	AUS 5	VAL 10			4th	178
2003	250 cc	Aprilia	JPN Ret	RSA 8	SPA 1	FRA 1	ITA 6	CAT 4	NED 13	GBR 4	GER 7	CZE 2	POR 1	BRA 18	PAC 1	MAL 1	AUS 11	VAL 2			3rd	226
2004	250 cc	Honda	RSA 8	SPA 12	FRA 3	ITA 6	CAT 3	NED 3	BRA 3	GER 22	GBR Ret	CZE 5	POR 1	JPN 2	QAT 6	MAL 3	AUS 5	VAL 2			4th	199
2005	MotoGP	Yamaha	SPA 12	POR 14	CHN 14	FRA 9	ITA	CAT	NED	USA 13	GBR 9	GER 12	CZE 14	JPN 9	MAL 11	QAT 8	AUS 9	TUR 6	VAL 10		12th	74
2006	MotoGP	Honda	SPA 4	QAT 8	TUR 5	CHN 11	FRA 9	ITA 7	CAT Ret	NED	GBR	GER 11	USA 15	CZE 11	MAL Ret	AUS 9	JPN 6	POR 1	VAL 6		9th	116
2007	MotoGP	Honda	QAT 14	SPA 4	CHN 2	TUR Ret	FRA Ret	ITA 6	CAT Ret	GBR 12	NED	GER	USA	CZE 11	RSM 7	POR 8	JPN 3	AUS 15	MAL 6	VAL 10	12th	104
2008	MotoGP	Ducati	QAT 14	SPA 15	POR 12	CHN 8	FRA 11	ITA 12	CAT DSQ	GBR 11	NED 12	GER 12	USA 7	CZE 2	RSM 3	IND 12	JPN 12	AUS 11	MAL 15	VAL 18	12th	92
2009	MotoGP	Honda	QAT 9	JPN 15	SPA 9	FRA 10	ITA 14	CAT 18	NED 12	USA 6	GER 6	GBR Ret	CZE 3	IND 9	RSM 6	POR 6	AUS 10	MAL 7	VAL 6		7th	115
2010	Moto2	Moriwaki	QAT 4	SPA 1	FRA 1	ITA 5	GBR 10	NED 2	CAT 5	GER 1	CZE 1	IND 1	RSM 1	ARA 4	JPN 1	MAL 4	AUS 7	POR Ret	VAL 30		1st	271
2011	MotoGP	Honda	QAT Ret	SPA 9	POR 11	FRA 11	CAT 13	GBR 8	NED 10	ITA 15	GER 16	USA 13	CZE 11	IND 13	RSM 15	ARA Ret	JPN Ret	AUS 8	MAL C	VAL 10	15th	61

External links

• tonielias.com – Official site

Preceded by Hiroshi Aoyama (250cc)

Moto2 Motorcycle World Champion 2010

Succeeded by Stefan Bradl