Team Alice in Donnington

Surely a proof of character for Toni Elias who, starting from the last position in the British Grand Prix, gritted his teeth giving all he had from the first to the last turn.

At the end of the first lap the Spanish rider had already gained two positions on Hopkins and Toseland who unluckily slipped in the first turn. Constancy allowed the Alice Team rider to improve lap after lap registering his best lap time in the 21st lap when he was in twelfth position. In the last lap, after a battle which lasted seven laps, the Catalan rider made the last overtake which put him in eleventh position which means five world championship points.

Elias, now, is in fourteenth position in the World Classification with 29 points, together with Marco Melandri. His teammate Sylvain Guintoli, after the good start that saw him in eleventh position for the first six laps, has concluded in thirteenth position. The French rider is now in seventeenth position in the 2008 MotoGP classification.

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Technical Director

“With all the difficulties we found this weekend, weather conditions included, the eleventh position gives us good hopes. To start from the last position is never easy, mostly mentally, but Toni has always demonstrated his strong and determined character during his career. We knew that with this track conditions, much more similar to the last Barcelona test, we were more competitive. Next weekend in Assen we will try other solutions tried during the test to improve even more.”

Toni Elias – Alice Team rider (11th in the race – 14th in the MotoGP Classification)

“Let’s put it this way, I am happy for all we have done today. With my Team we have worked intensively to find the best solution possible. I would say that we have done a good job. Naturally the eleventh place doesn’t make me happy, but for how it went yesterday I can consider myself satisfied. I am an aggressive rider and I like to overtake, but I would like to be able to fight also for better positions. In four days we will back on track and I hope to continue in this direction.”

Sylvain Guintoli – Alice Team rider (13th in the race – 17th in the MotoGP Classification)

“I started well and I remained in eleventh position for many laps. I didn’t push too hard in the first half of the race because today we tried a new front tyre that I never used before and we have done many modifications in the front part of the bike. After ten laps I found a good rhythm on 1’30. I made it to maintain it until the end, but even if it was a rhythm much better compare to my lap time registered on Friday, I didn’t make it to step up in the classification.”

Toni Elias

Team Alice in Catalunya

Hard day for the Alice Team on the Montmelò circuit in the seventh MotoGP round.
Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli, who started respectively from thirteenth and fifteenth position, had found themselves in the last two positions after the first lap.
After eight laps the Spanish rider, who was concentrated in the fight with Melandri, West and his team-mate, has seen the pit-board with the penalty for jump start too late, shown at lap five, and during the ride through he had to stop at the end of the pit lane as he was disqualified. A mistake for the home rider who wanted to do well in front of his own crowd.

Also Guintoli hasn’t been so lucky. He lost a lot of time at lap four when he went off track and when he reached West and Melandri, the rear tyre lost a bit of grip not allowing him to overtake them. Tomorrow and Tuesday the Alice Team will participate at the test on the Circuit in Barcelona to prepare for the next Grand Prix scheduled on June 22nd in Donington.

Sergio Verbena – Sylvain Guintoli track engineer

“Seen the race rhythm we had in yesterday’s practices I expected a little bit more. We can say that without the off track I had, where I lost about six seconds, we could have concluded at least a couple of positions ahead. But these are the races and you pay every single mistake. We will use tomorrow and Tuesday’s test to try different tyres solutions. We believe we can do better from the next round.”

Sylvain Guintoli – Alice Team rider (13th in the race – In MotoGP Classification 17th)

“I am surely not happy on how the race went today. I started really bad, not like the last times, founding my self last after the first lap. Then, trying to overtake Toni, I went off track and I lost a lot of time. I did all I could to catch West and Melandri, but when I reached them, probably because I pushed a lot, my rear tyre didn’t have the same grip in the last two laps. I hope to do well tomorrow and Tuesday to conquer a better position in Donington.”

Toni Elias – Pilota Alice Team (Disqualified – In MotoGP Classification 15th)

“I don’t have any words. I am sorry for the Team and for my fans that have been really good with me in these days. Just a few seconds before the start I went just a bit forward but I didn’t think it was so relevant. In the first laps I was fighting with Marco (Melandri), West and Guintoli and I was too concentrated on the race. When I have seen the pit-board with the penalty sign was too late. Now we have to concentrate in these two days of testing to find some valid solution that will allow us to be competitive in the next race.”

Team Alice in Mugello

Sylvain Guintoli, Alice Team rider, has declared yesterday: “Tomorrow I want and I can obtain the best result of the season so far”, and so he has done. Surely the French rider isn’t fully satisfied by the eleventh position obtained today, but he consider it a good starting point for the intense work of the next two months, with five races in seven weeks.

His race has started with difficulties as he was touched by another rider and lost four positions in the second turn of the race, but after a few laps Sylvain found again the good rhythm registered in the warm up finishing just one position from the top ten. Another story for his team-mate, Toni Elias, who after the improvements seen in China doesn’t find back the right confidence to push at the maximum his Ducati Desmosedici GP8 SAT. Elias, who has finished in twelfth position, will try to improve in his home race, in Barcelona, in just 7 days. Thanks to the nine points conquered today, the Alice Team overtake the Kawasaki Racing Team in the MotoGP Team classification, positioning in eight place.

Sergio Verbena – Sylvain Guintoli’s Track Engineer

“Sylvain has been showing light improvements with his Ducati through the all weekend. This morning during warm up he has been really regular with an interesting rhythm. It seems the race started well, but after a few turns he was touched by another rider losing four positions. He also lost some seconds in the fight with his team-mate, Toni Elias, who is really good in the braking and not easy to overtake. Without these two episodes he could have fought with Chris Vermeulen to enter the top ten. We can’t be satisfied, but this results give us hopes for the rest of the season.”

Sylvain Guintoli – Alice Team rider (11th in the race – 17th in the MotoGP Classification)

“This morning in the warm up, thanks to the hard work of my Team, we have found a good set up of the bike to use during the race. I was confident and my start is the proof. I overtook many riders in the first turn positioning well. Then, in the second turn, someone has touched me making me lose four positions. This episode has condition me for some laps because I thought there could be something wrong with my bike, but after about a third of the race things were back to normality and I found again this morning’s rhythm. This allowed me to recover various positions overtaking in the last few laps my team-mate, Toni Elias, and Nicky Hayden. I am not excited about this race, but is surely a positive performance for my Team’s morale. Moreover is the first time I finish in front of my team-mate and I think this is positive to grow together in the next races.”

Toni Elias – Alice Team rider (12th in the race – 15th in the MotoGP Classification)
“I don’t have many words today, I simply never been in the race. This morning, in the last laps of the warm up, I thought I found a good technical solution, but in the race it didn’t work as good. It is a negative day for us. With the Team members, who I work really good with, we will try to study the situation to improve on my home circuit, in Barcelona, in 7 days.”

Team Alice in Le Mans

During the firsts laps it seemed like a new race for Toni Elias who started from the fourteenth position on the grid and maintained the tenth position until the fifth lap. But, just a bit later, the Catalan rider didn’t manage to maintain his good rhythm and lost four positions. At mid race, just like in China two weeks ago, with less fuel and therefore with a lighter bike, he found a rhythm which allowed him to finish in eleventh position even if the rain slowed him down during the last part of the race.

His teammate, Sylvain Guintoli, wanted to do well for his own supporters, but the Frenchman didn’t manage to find the right rhythm at the beginning of the race. He lost too much time from the group pace and consequently lost the possibility to fight for better positions.

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Team Alice in Shanghai

ELIAS IN EIGHT POSITION IN THE PRAMAC GRAND PRIX OF CHINA.
ANOTHER WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINT FOR GUINTOLI

The fourth 2008 MotoGP race started with uncertain track condition. The asphalt has completely dried out a few minutes before the start of the Pramac Grand Prix of China, where the Alice Team riders have respectively started from fifteenth and fourteenth position. Guintoli has done better than his team-mate at the beginning maintaining the thirteenth position until the eighteenth lap when he lost two position and concluded in fifteenth. The opposite has done Toni Elias, who in the sixth lap was in seventeenth position, but after a few laps the Spanish rider found the right rhythm which allowed him to come back and finish the race in eight position. A pity for the not so happy start, seen Toni has registered the fifth fastest lap in the race, not too far from the fastest. A sensible step forward for the Catalan rider who hopes to keep growing in two weeks time, on May 18th, when there will be the Alice Grand Prix of France.

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