Toni Elias worried about first race prospects

Spaniard Toni Elias has already cast doubts on his prospects of making a fast start to the 2009 MotoGP world championship campaign.

The Gresini Honda rider, who had a torrid time with the Alice Ducati squad last season, fears he will struggle to make an impact in the first race in Qatar on April 12 after a tough recent test session under the Losail International Circuit’s floodlights.

Elias, who will ride an RC212V close to the spec that official factory Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso will run, struggled to finish only 11th quickest in the night test.

His main concern was generating heat into the Bridgestone tyres. Track temperatures plummeted down to 14 degrees after 10pm at night at the test, though conditions are expected to significantly improve when the first race is held in Qatar on April 12.

But Elias said: “I am quite worried because after 10pm it was very dangerous. You needed three or four laps to heat the tyres. The bike was moving around a lot and sliding a lot and there was no warning at all before you lost grip.

“I’m sure that’s what happened to Dani (Pedrosa) when he crashed and got injured.”