Barbera takes first ever front row start at Mugello
Pramac Racing Team rider Hèctor Barberà was in sparkling form during qualifying for the Gran Premio dItalia to secure a place on the first row of the grid for tomorrows eagerly anticipated Mugello race. The amazing rider from Valencia took the first front row of his whole MotoGP career after a scintillating qualifying session this afternoon, and was separated by less than three tenths of a second from the pole man Daniel Pedrosa.
After two great qualifying sessions yesterday, Hèctor today was consistently fast and he had a sensational feeling with his Ducati, that allowed him to stop the clock at 147.545, an extraordinary qualifying lap time. Hèctor was the fastest Ducati in field and was also one of the only seven riders who set a best lap time under the wall of 148.000.
Now the Pramac Racing Team is confident and optimistic, waiting for tomorrows 23-lap race that will get underway at 14:00 local time.
Hèctor Barberà - 3rd place in 147.545
If yesterday somebody told me that I could start from the front row, I would not have believed it. But today Im on the first row and tomorrow I will start Pramac Racings home race from an amazing third spot on the grid. Its like a dream.
I had to say thanks to my crew, who worked tirelessly during every session, understanding how to work with our Ducati machine. But there is another important point: I really enjoyed riding my bike and these kinds of sensations allowed me to have a more consistent and faster pace. Tomorrow I will try to have a good start and fight for the whole race with the front guys.
Marco Rigamonti - Track Engineer Pramac Racing Team
After yesterday’s brilliant fourth place, during todays qualifying session we caught the front row and tomorrow we will start from the third place on the grid. Amazing! We were waiting for a positive result, but we did not think about the first row! Both the air temperature and the track temperature were higher compared to yesterday, and this change shuffled the cards. Hèctor had good confidence with the bike and this allowed him to adapt in a better way at the hot track and air conditions. He was able to ride alone, without any reference from the other riders. We hope for a great race, even if the weather will be a crucial point in choosing the tyres for tomorrows race.
Source: Pramac Racing Press Release