M2: German GP: Gresini Racing race report

CONVINCING WIN FOR ECSTATIC ELIAS, IVANOV TAKES FIRST POINTS

Toni Elias once again confounded the disbelievers with another stunning victory that surprised even Team Gresini. His pace in the final twenty minutes of an otherwise problematic qualifying yesterday suggested that he was at least capable of a competitive showing today, but there were no signs of the dominance that he eventually showed in a stunning performance. The Spaniard did not make the best start and dropped back to eleventh place but mounted an incredible recovery to win by a clear margin and put himself firmly back in the championship driving seat. There were celebrations on both sides of the Team Gresini garage as Vladimir Ivanov picked up his first World Championship points -- a result that is every bit as good as a win for the Russian rookie.

Toni Elias (1st): "I am very happy for a variety of reasons today -- firstly because I have won again and enjoyed myself, unlike the wins at Jerez or Le Mans. Secondly we have made a massive step forward with the set-up, using the data from the recent test at Aragon and making gradual progress throughout practice before making the definitive step in quality at the end of qualifying. We made another little change today and the bike worked perfectly in the race. Our start wasn't the best and I got shoved around in the first corner but I started to work my way back from eleventh place and got up to Iannone, who is the form rider in the championship at the moment. I thought it would be really difficult to catch him and even if I did I expected a tough fight to the end but it turned out to be quite easy and I won with a big gap. We are leading the championship and now I think I deserve a few days off!"

Vladimir Ivanov (14th): "Incredible! I have finally scored my first points and that gives me a lot of pleasure on a day that Elias won again. It's a great day for myself and for Team Gresini. I have achieved my first objective sooner than we expected and it feels great!"

Fausto Gresini: "A truly fantastic day! After the start I really didn't think a recovery like that was possible but he believed in himself, stayed calm and soon began to set good lap times and make some aggressive passes. It was exciting to watch right to the end, when he had to grit his teeth and hang on with used tyres. It is an important victory for the championship and even though we don't want to think about that just yet we can enjoy leading Moto2 until we're next on track at Brno. It was a great day all round, with Vladimir Ivanov scoring his first points. He looked like he'd just won the race too -- fantastic!"

-source: gresini racing