Many drivers of Hispanic origin have marked the history of the American Championship, such as Gene Romero, David Aldana, Don Castro and many others. Toni Elias is their worthy successor, who at 35 won the US Superbike title for the Yoshimura Suzuki team.
It was on October 15, 2006 that Toni (Antonio “Toni” Elías Justícia) had his moment of glory by winning the Portuguese Grand Prix in MotoGP at Estoril, beating second-placed Valentino Rossi by 0.002. He was also the first World Champion in Moto2 in 2010.
This weekend, Team Suzuki's Spaniard Yoshimura got off to a good start at Road Atlanta, then battled for three-quarters of the race with South African Team Westby Yamaha rider Mathew Scholtz before to distance him a few laps from the end.
It was Toni's seventeenth victory in the USA. “ My race pace was good, and I knew it, said Elias in the Road Atlanta paddock, so when I saw that Mathew overtook me, I attacked to win the race. »
Scholtz, after all, is a beginner. US Superstock 1000 Champion, Mathew was happy with his second place finish.
Another rookie on the podium shows that the United States is still producing young talents on two wheels with third place for Garrett Gerloff, a rider well regarded by insiders; his Yamaha R1 is super official and the Texan knows how to take it to the limit.
Cameron Beaubier and Roger Lee Hayden experienced penalizing problems during the race in the form of a fall.
On the Supersport side, in a race interrupted by a red flag, the second start was favorable to JD Beach to cross the finish line first. The Yamaha R6 rider beat his rival and friend Hayden Gillim, still on an R6, with a gap of only 223 thousandths.
Completes the podium Corey West with the Suzuki GSX-R 600 which, in the MotoAmerica championship, is always a popular and competitive motorcycle: with a four-cylinder from Hamamatsu Nick McFadden finished fourth and Daytona Anderson sixth.
A little video to please yourself?
Photos © Bryan J. Nelson
Results © MotoAmerica
