Excellent Third Row Grid Spot For Barbera

It was an exciting qualifying session for the MotoGP race at Motegi today, dominated initially by Dani Pedrosa before a dramatic final fifteen minutes that saw Casey Stoner dislodge his team-mate, only to be usurped by Jorge Lorenzo and then retake control with a stunning new pole record. The Australian was the fastest of just four riders to break into the 1’45s although he looks to be the one with the quickest race pace.

Ninth place seems to suit MAPFRE Aspar rider Héctor Barberá, who finished in that position after a strong start to free practice yesterday and qualified there today. Despite struggling to get his pace together this morning he was back on track this afternoon and spent virtually the whole session inside the top ten. Héctor looked set to qualify as the top Ducati but after being overcome by just one colleague from the Italian factory he is desperate to back up this result with another good performance to match the one from Motorland two weeks ago.

9th Héctor Barberá 1.46.694 (23 laps):
“With the set-up we have and our position on the grid all that remains to be done is to push hard from the start of the race. We have been fast everywhere this year, the category has moved up a level and all the records are being smashed which is great. In my case I am lapping two seconds per lap quicker and that is the best thing for me – I am finding it easier to improve every time we go out on track. Our objective remains a top six finish and I think we can be close to it tomorrow. We have a pace in the low 1’47s and if the conditions are similar to today we are ready to go to battle.”

Source: Aspar Media