Tony Elias is the third member of the Elias family to participate in the world of professional motorbike racing.
Born in Spain, Elias started with MiniBikes and moved onto the 125cc World Championships in 1999. In his first year, he just took part in 3 races and managed to get 2 points from them. He got his first full season in 2000 and he showed what he was capable of. Amidst some strong performances, he got 24 points in the season and ended it in 20th place. But in 2001, he started pulling out the stops. In just his second full season, he finished with 2 wins and 9 podium finishes on his way to third place in the championships. He immediately went up to the 250cc for 2002 and finished 4th in his first season. He scored his maiden 250cc win as well as 5 podium finishes to finish the season on 178 points. He bettered his performance on the Aprilla RS250 in his second year by clinching 5 incredible wins and 7 podium place finishes in 2003. He got onto third place for the season with 226 points He moved to a Honda for the 2004 season and although he just managed 1 win, his eight podium finishes ensured that he got fourth place in the final standings.
His consistent performances got him the big break into MotoGP. Fortuna Yamaha was his first team and in his debut season, Elias finished 12th. The season was spent mainly in gaining experience at the top level of motorbike racing. He moved to the Gresini Honda team for 2006 and just managed one win. His 9th place finish was good enough for a second season with the team although this wasn’t to be as good. After just one podium finish in the first half of the season, Elias suffered a major crash at Assen, breaking his leg. He managed to return in time for Motegi and got his second podium finish of the season.
The promise that Tony has displayed in his short time in the championships can well be attributed to his grit and determination to succeed. However, he will not be satisfied until he can answer his critics with strong performances that made him a championship contender at the 250cc category.
