Toni Elias to replace Kyle Wyman at Laguna Seca round
TUCSON, Ariz. (July 1) -- Kyle Wyman Racing has announced that the team will field 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion and 2010 Moto2 World Champion Toni Elias on its Panera Bread Ducati Panigale V4 R at next weekend’s MotoAmerica GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Speedfest at Monterey as a replacement rider for the injured Kyle Wyman.
Elias will replace injured team owner/racer Kyle Wyman, who will be focusing his efforts on winning the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship on his factory Harley-Davidson Road Glide at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Wyman suffered multiple fractures of the Olecranon bone, a significant structural component of the elbow joint, when he crashed his Panera Bread Ducati in the second of two HONOS Superbike races at Road America on June 13. Wyman underwent surgery on June 17 in Northern California, where Dr. Maury K. Harwood used a plate and seven screws to repair the elbow. Since then, Wyman had been rehabilitating the injury at home in an effort to be as fit as possible for the King Of The Baggers Series finale at Laguna on July 11.
Wyman leads the title chase in the Mission King Of The Baggers Series with a victory and a second-place finish in the two races. Wyman gave Harley-Davidson its first-ever Baggers win on Sunday, June 13 at Road America, just hours before suffering his injury in the second Superbike race.
"I'm very happy to welcome Toni Elias to KWR as a replacement rider for the Laguna Seca round on the KWR Ducati Superbike," Wyman said. "Toni brings a wealth of experience both in MotoAmerica and abroad, and it is an honor to be in a position to field a rider and world champion of his caliber. Toni is a great guy who we've missed this year in the paddock, so I'm really happy that I can welcome him back to MotoAmerica. There were a lot of factors we sifted through to arrive at our decision and it wasn't one I've taken lightly. I want him to have fun and enjoy the bike and the experience, and I'm sure we will learn something along the way while I focus on the third and final round of the King of the Baggers championship."
Elias has an outstanding record at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with the Spaniard winning three Superbike races at the 2.23-mile racetrack nestled into a hillside on the Monterey Peninsula. In addition to those three wins, Elias has seven podiums at Laguna – including two second place finishes and a third in last year’s tripleheader, which was the last time Elias raced a motorcycle after sitting out the 2021 season thus far.
“I’m really happy and really excited because Kyle has given me this opportunity to comeback to a racetrack with a good bike,” Elias said. “I’ve been coaching since the last race in Laguna (Seca), but when you coach you are riding at 10, 20 percent of what you can go in a race. It’s been low speed and calm, so I need this energy. I need to take a good bike and keep my 100 percent on the racetrack and that is why I am super grateful to Kyle for thinking about me. It’s not about the result, it’s about having fun and if I can be some help and give some good information to Kyle, it’s perfect. I know he will come back soon so I wish him a fast recovery because this is his bike and his team. It will be very nice to go back to the paddock as a racer and this time I will come with Kristy, with the kids. This is something that makes me really happy. To share the race weekend with my family. I think will be very special and, of course, Laguna is always amazing to race this iconic track and I’m looking forward to seeing me on a Ducati.”
Although this will mark Elias’ MotoAmerica Superbike debut on a Ducati, it won’t be the first race for the Spaniard on the Italian marque as he competed for the Pramac Ducati team in the 2008 MotoGP World Championship, earning two podium finishes.
“I don’t think it will be very different than the MotoGP Ducati,” Elias said. “The blood is the blood and that doesn’t change. I believe problems we solved that year will help me during this weekend and I think it will help the team for the future.”
For the full weekend schedule - click here: https://motoamerica.com/wp-content/PDF/2021%20MotoAmerica%20Laguna%20Seca%20Fan%20and%20Broadcast%20Schedule
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