Toni Elias will not replace James Toseland at BMW

Added on Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

After announcing his retirement due to injury, speculation has been rife about who will replace James Toseland at BMW and it seemed that LCR Honda MotoGP rider Toni Elias might be a contender for his spot on the team, after it was announced he would ride for them during the Misano test this week.

BMW have confirmed that Elias, the 2010 Moto2 champion, will be testing their BMW Motorrad Italia SBK S1000RR bike at the two day test at Misano. However, BMW have said that the test isn’t aimed at finding a replacement for Toseland and that Elias still has commitments to his team at Honda.

The test comes due to a variety of different circumstances; Toseland’s retirement, Elias’ eagerness to try out a Superbike and of course the longstanding friendship between BMW’s Director and the owner of Honda LCR, Lucio Cecchinello. Elias has previously raced in 125, 250, Moto2 and MotoGP, being successful and winning races in all divisions.

BMW Italia Director, Serafino Foti, said: “James’ farewell to racing certainly was not something we were happy about. After all, James is a champion! But obviously we also have to look forward.

“The tests on 13 and 14 September were scheduled some time ago and we wanted to invite Toni in order to satisfy his interest as well as to take advantage of his experience and riding skills.

“The upcoming test is not aimed at replacing James in the championship, partly because Toni is already committed to the MotoGP championship. However, over the next few days we will identify and officially name the rider who will be competing for us in the last three races.

“I would like to express my personal thanks to Lucio Cecchinello (LCR Honda team boss) for his willingness to co-operate and to Honda for going along with his request.”

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