A championship leader crashing out, the title fight being blown wide open, a legendary final lap and, above all, the smallest gap between the top two finishers in MotoGP history: it was on 15 October 2006 that Toni Elias claimed his only premier-class victory in a race that has remained etched in the memory.
Elias arrived at Estoril 13th in the championship and was not considered a favourite. Attention was focused instead on the two main contenders for the world title: Nicky Hayden, the most consistent rider and championship leader since the Barcelona round just before the start of summer, and Valentino Rossi, who was stringing together podium finishes and clawing back the deficit he had accumulated during a difficult start to the season.
