Mapfre Aspar rider Hector Barbera battles for tenth place finish in Czech Republic GP – MotoGP news
Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP rider Hector Barbera fought hard to score a place in the top ten at the Cardion AB Grand Prix at Brno, Czech Republic.
From 13th on the grid, Barbera raced well along Toni Elias and Hiroshi Aoyama and finished tenth between both satellite Honda riders. The Spanish rider qualified as the fastest satellite Ducati rider and also finished as ahead of
fellow satellite Ducati riders.
Barbera said, “It was a pretty difficult race, as I had problems with the front end five laps in and they wouldn't go away. Between the previous race and this one we worked hard on the front, but we still have a few things to resolve.”
His comeback after the summer break was pretty tough. After some changes made to his Desmosedici, he was struggling to achieve the desired results, but there was no improvement seen. During the race, Barbera faced lack of grip on the front end of his bike.
Even though he was out of traction and also struggling to keep up the pace, he still managed to finish better than Pramac Racing riders’ duo, Puniet and Capirossi.
Barbera said, “Today it felt like I was losing the front when I hit the brakes on certain corners. This wasn't helped by the fact that the tyre was gradually degrading and making it tougher to brake hard every time. I tried to make the most of things at
the start and push while I still had some confidence.”
Couple of riders managed to close on him while two laps on the countdown were remaining, so Barbera had to defend his position to prevent them from passing ahead. In such situation, he could not attempt to strike the rider ahead for position battle.
By the end of the race, Barbera managed to battle with fellow riders which he enjoyed and maintained his position in the race. After no improvements with the changes made, the Mapfre team will reset its bike for the Indianapolis Grand Prix weekend.
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