MIXED FEELINGS FOR LCR PAIR AT LAGUNA SECA GP QUALIFYING

Monterey, 23 July: LCR Honda MotoGP rider Toni Elias will start tomorrow’s U.S. Grand Prix from 17th spot on the grid ahead his American team mate Ben Bostrom who qualified 18^th in today’s qualifying session at Laguna Seca Raceway. Second day of practices started with typical coastal Northern California weather (21 degrees on the ground) and the Spaniard was not able to better his times from the previous day after a crash at turn 11. He escaped unhurt from the accident and returned to the track in the afternoon for the 60-minute qualifying session which was held in warmer conditions.

Despite some geometry adjustments to his Honda machinery Elias could not increase his pace on Q-tyres whilst wildcard Bostrom has proceeded with his learning course at his home surface.

Elias – 17^th (1’24.156): “We are back to our “standard” situation and obviously we were expecting something better. Anyway I want to a massive thank you to the guys because they worked hard even today because we had to change the bike geometry during the session. We are struggling with the same front issue that was the cause of my crash this morning. If you crash here you lose confidence because it’s a very tricky surface. I love lapping here but in this condition it’s not fun for me. We will try to fix the bike in tomorrows warm up trying to improve front and rear grip for the race”.

Bostrom – 18^th (1’25.291): “The two bikes couldn’t be more opposite: tyres, brakes, chassis...it’s unbelievable! There’s a lot to learn and I was trying to improve every time I get on the bike step by step because I do not want crash the bike. It’s nice to have Lucio and the guys also watching so they can see the difference. The adjustments we have made this afternoon were better and our lap time improved a little bit. Probably I could have gone faster but I made race distance in the last session and I am racing two different bikes this week end so I am pretty satisfied so far”.

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