Team Aspar Race Report

Hector: “Maybe I Overstretched Myself”

Hector Barbera, Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP

Photo by: Aspar Team

The 2011 MotoGP race in Portugal was expected to be a dominant race for Jorge Lorenzo, and it was the Spaniard who broke the peleton early on. Rival Dani Pedrosa was the only rider able to keep up with him, and gave spectators the action they craved with a late overtake for the win. Casey Stoner rode a solitary race for third place, whilst Valentino Rossi was passed on the line by Andrea Dovizioso to move things around in the top five. The moves on the final couple of laps were an exciting twist to what had been a mostly processional race in the premier class, which took place in dry conditions.

MAPFRE Aspar rider Héctor Barberá’s race lasted just four corners, and luck was not on the Spaniard’s side at Estoril. After two days of positive practice sessions, the sophomore rider was looking forward to repeating the great result taken at the last round at Jerez. A combination of a cold tyre and the fast pace of the opening lap meant race over for Barberá, as the back end of his Ducati stepped out and threw him to the ground. After a visit to the Clinica Mobile, he received a diagnosis of a small crack on the right hand side of a lumbar vertebra. The injury is not serious for the moment, and should only require rest in order to heal.

MotoGP returns on May 15th, with the French Grand Prix at Le Mans the fourth round on the 2011 calendar.

Héctor Barberá (DNF):

“It is a shame, because I think that we could have been in the top eight with the practice pace that we had. I wanted to continue my form from Jerez. It was my mistake, because I maybe overstretched myself. It was just that I had a group of riders in front of me and didn’t want to lose them. I suppose I should have been a bit more reserved, because it was the first left hander and the tyre was perhaps a little cold. The crash was a strange one, because I didn’t get any warning and suddenly I was on the ground. I rode almost the same line on the warm-up lap, and nothing happened then. I don’t know what to think. It was an excess of confidence, because I had never had problems on that corner before the race. I wasn’t even on the throttle when I took it. After I got changed I noticed that my back was aching, so I went to the clinica and got some scans done. It looks like I might have a small crack on the right hand side of a vertebra, but it is something that maybe won’t trouble me tomorrow. The doctors have told me to rest up and come back tomorrow for another examination.”

-source: team aspar