WSBK Shuffle: Elias to Red Devils Roma As Fabrizio In talks to Replace Injured Rea at Honda

The World Superbike Championship was off this past weekend but it looks like there will be some significant changes to the grid when the series resumes next weekend at Istanbul Park in Turkey. Veteran racer Toni Elias has quit his Moto2 team, reportedly to sign with the Red Devils Roma squad to ride the Aprilia RSV4 Factory for the remaining four rounds of the season. Elias will replace Michel Fabrizio who is reportedly unhappy with late payments from the team’s sponsors.

Fabrizio might not be idle for long as Motoblog.it reports he is in talks with the PATA Honda team to finish the season in place of Jonathan Rea. The British rider broke his femur at Nurburgring and will likely miss the remaining four rounds of the season, making Fabrizio, who sits one spot behind Rea in the championship, a good choice for a replacement rider.

The drama between Fabrizio and the Red Devils Roma team has been building for a while now, with GPOne reporting Fabrizio threatened to skip the Aug. 4 Silverstone round. Fabrizio has one podium finish, a third place result, but that came in the first race of the season-opening round at Phillip Island.

Elias meanwhile has had a disappointing season for the Blusens Avintia Moto2 team. Elias leaves the team sitting 18th in the standings with just 21 championship points in 11 races. Elias will be replaced for the rest of the season by Argentine rider Ezequiel Iturrioz.

[Source: Motoblog.it, GPOne]

By Dennis Chung