Newly-crowned Moto2 champion Toni Elias will return to MotoGP for the 2011 season, replacing Randy de Puniet at LCR Honda.
Moto2 champion replaces De Puniet at LCR Honda
Newly-crowned Moto2 champion Toni Elias will make a return to MotoGP for the 2011 season, replacing Randy de Puniet at LCR Honda.
The 27-year-old Spaniard spent five seasons in the top class before dropping down to compete in the inaugural season of the new category.
Elias has gone on to dominate Moto2, winning seven races out of 16 and holding an unassailable 86-point lead in the championship with one race remaining.
LCR team manager Lucio Cecchinello welcomed Elias to his outfit after the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday.
"The chance to work with Toni Elias is a big incentive for us because this is a very important moment for presenting to our sponsors and partners a new project," he said in a statement.
"The nice thing is that Toni and I raced together in the 125cc class; I was at the end of my career and he was at the beginning."
Elias won one race during his previous spell in MotoGP, a dramatic victory in Estoril four years ago when he beat Valentino Rossi by two-thousandths of a second.
