Barbera Takes 11th In Treacherous Conditions At Silverstone

The Silverstone circuit resembled a swimming pool just before the British Grand Prix’s main event began, with a wet surface for the MotoGP riders to tackle on Sunday afternoon. Fifteen riders took to their grid positions (regular riders Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow were absent due to injury) for a race that promised to be a difficult test. Jorge Lorenzo got the holeshot with a strong start, but Casey Stoner soon got back in front and sped off into the distance. He led the race from the second lap onwards, unstoppable in another powerful display. Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli later succumbed to the wet tarmac, leaving Andrea Dovizioso and Colin Edwards as the other podium finishers. Just thirteen riders were able to cross the finish line.

MAPFRE Aspar rider Héctor Barberá had a tricky time of things at Silverstone, and left the circuit not especially pleased with race day. He finished eleventh in the MotoGP race, and was one of the few riders able to complete the contest in tough conditions. He and his team had made a risky move in softening up the suspension on his Ducati, and the Spaniard realised that this had not been the right move almost as soon as the race began. There was no going back once the lights went out, however, so he struggled through the twenty-lap contest with the objective of not crashing out and picking up points. It wasn’t easy, with the steering locking on every corner, but a cautious approach ensured his successful completion of the British Grand Prix.

The next round of the World Championship takes place at Assen in the Netherlands, in two weeks time.

11th Héctor Barberá:
“This race was a tough one for me. We worked a lot on suspension overnight, making the bike softer. I think that we overdid it. I was almost going over the forks whenever I hit the brakes. It was hard to ride at the start when I had the fuel tank full and I could feel the steering close up on every corner. If it was a practice session, then I would have come in after the first lap and changed the configurations. We were looking for a softer suspension yesterday and today, thinking that it would improve things, but sometimes risks like this don’t pay off. I am unhappy, because I am convinced that I could have taken a good result. There is no time to mope about this though, because we are off to Holland in two weeks and will have to work hard to turn things around.”

Source: Aspar Media