AFTER struggling in his return to the Moto2 class Toni Elias has split with the Aspar team.
Elias was victorious in the first year of Moto2 in 2010 and after a disastrous return to MotoGP last year the Spaniard returned to the intermediate class with the Jorge Martinez Aspar outfit.
But despite Elias' past success in the feeder class, he has been unable to find his form and has so far had a best finish of seventh and is 15th in the championship standings, and after crashing out at Mugello the decision was made to part company with immediate effect.
Elias said: "We have always looked for solutions together to try and go fast with the Suter, but in the end we weren't able to find a way. The atmosphere in the garage and the relationship between the team and I has always been excellent, the mechanics have given their all to try and find solutions and Jorge has believed completely in me, but things haven't turned out as we had hoped."
Team boss, Martinez added: "We got behind Toni Elias right from the start of the 2012 preseason. Ever since his previous stint in the team, back in the 250cc class, he has shown that he is a fast rider. In 2010 he won the Moto2 title.
"The aim of the MAPFRE Aspar Team is always to be the top team in the intermediate class and a clear contender for the World Championship. This year we had put great faith in Toni’s ability to bring us the title, but in the end things didn’t turn out as we had expected.”
