Malaysia GP: Team Aspar race report

Barbera Takes Away Positives From Difficult Sepang Race

Starting later than scheduled due to a clash with the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix, the MotoGP race at Sepang eventually got underway at 4pm local time. It was well worth the wait, as there was action and overtaking in abundance from the frontrunners. Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso made an initial escape, but were hunted down by Valentino Rossi over the course of the race. Lorenzo had to keep his cool to stay out of a potentially title-damaging battle, whilst Rossi took the chequered flag first in Malaysia. Third place behind Dovizioso was enough to give Lorenzo the 2010 MotoGP World Championship crown, becoming the first Spaniard to do so since Alex Criville in 1999.

Paginas Amarillas Aspar Hector Barbera rounded off a productive weekend with eleventh place in Sepang. The Spaniard had been trying out solutions to problems from last weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, but he never quite found the full form that he had hoped for in Malaysia. His main difficulty in this race was a lack of stability in the rear end -a problem most apparent when opening the throttle on the long Sepang straights. He ran off track, tried to find a comfortable pace and gradually gained confidence as the laps ran down. After seeing four crashes on the slippery asphalt, Barbera's strategy paid off and he completed another rookie season race.

11th Hector Barbera:
"Throughout the weekend we have been trying to find solutions to the same problems that we experienced in Japan, and this time we got it right. But not completely. The Ducati was working well under braking and was very stable, but when I opened the gas things got difficult. I got off to a good start and gained a couple of places on the first lap, but as the race went on I saw the riders ahead of me creeping further away. When I realized that I didn't have a chance to gain further positions, I decided to experiment. I tried different lines, braking points etc., all in order to learn things to prepare for the Australian GP. Today we used a hard rear tyre and perhaps that was a mistake, as a softer one would have worked out better. This year we have three Spanish World Champions, which is fantastic for Spanish motorcycle racing. I congratulate Jorge and Elias for a fabulous job in their respective classes this year."

-source: team aspar