Barberá unhappy with forceful Simoncelli tactics

An epic 250cc battle involving four riders at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España on Sunday ultimately concluded with two Spanish riders losing out in close duels on the final corner.

Just as Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama got the better of Álvaro Bautista right at the death to win the race, Marco Simoncelli outdid Spaniard Héctor Barberá on the final corner and beat him to the finishing line by 0.063s to leave Barberá just off the podium.

Riding on home territory for the first time since his career-threatening back injury last season, hopes were high for Barberá before the race – especially having qualified second on the grid.

Barberá spent most of the race in fourth place, close behind the leading group, but during the final laps he took advantage of a mistake from Simoncelli to push into third place, only for the Italian to retake the final podium spot at the last possible opportunity.

Summarising the weekend after crossing the line less than three seconds behind racewinner Aoyama, Barberá stated, “It was a bit of a strange race really because I was just never 100% comfortable on the bike. Things had gone really well all through the weekend, especially on Saturday, but at the end of the race I wasn’t riding too well. I knew that Jerez was going to be difficult because it is one of the hardest tracks for me, but the support was great and that made me hopeful of getting on the podium.”

On the World Champion’s tactics at the end of the race, Barberá complained, “On the last corner Simoncelli came towards me as if to say, ‘it’s you or me’, because we weren’t changing positions and he just put himself right in the way. I had the space closed off and he went in with his bike upright, so if I hadn’t moved I would have gone down. It’s not the first time either and you shouldn’t ride like that.”

Leaving Jerez third in the standings, 15 points behind new leader Aoyama, Barberá concluded, “Ultimately, I can be happy that the first half of the race went well and that I have shown that I can consistently be in the battle for the podium.”