Mapfre Aspar rider Hector Barbera finishes as top satellite Ducati rider in Aragon GP – MotoGP news
Mapfre Aspar rider Hector Barbera was able to finish the Motorland Aragon Grand Prix as the top satellite Ducati rider on Sunday, September 18, 2011.
He qualified for a poor 14th seat on the grid but ended the first lap in seventh position.
However, it was not his season’s best race finish but the start off was a big advantage for the Spaniard. The lower temperatures on the raceday hampered the tyre performance of many riders. Barbera also claimed that the tyres were not properly heated and
their wear out was another issue.
Barbera said, “Today's race was difficult, because the temperature was a lot different to that which we experienced in practice. The bike behaved a little differently and we had to adjust to the situation. I think that my start was good and I am satisfied
with that, because I hadn't done so before this season.”
In the race, Barbera battled hard with factory Ducati rider Nicky Hayden and factory Suzuki rider Alvaro Bautista. After some counter attack by Bautista, he climbed ahead of both Ducati riders.
In the final laps of the race, Barbera and Hayden were left battling for the seventh position. For a complete lap, both riders exchanged positions several times but Hayden was successful in escaping after Barbera went wide.
Barbera added, “There was a moment in which I was up to sixth place, but Hayden and I traded positions over the course of a lap and Bautista escaped. With two laps remaining, I accidentally focused on Hayden's pit board, and saw that they had put one less
lap up for him.”
The Spanish rider further added that he was distracted by Hayden’s pit board and got confused. This helped Hayden to take advantage on Barbera and crossed ahead.
Following the confusion, he ran wide on the first corner and lost Hayden’s tail on the chase. It was a little disappointing for him to not to finish as the top Ducati rider but he was satisfied with the effort made.
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