Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) was beaming after taking fifth of the grid for the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. But the Spaniard's dreams quickly became a nightmare as he found himself battling for grip after six laps. Every corner was a challenge and Barbera did all he could to stay upright. He crossed the line in tenth but was awarded a one-place penalty for cutting the chicane, dropping him to 11th and rounding off a terrible day.
"After six laps I had no grip at all, the bike was spinning a lot"He and the Avintia Racing team remained in Barcelona for a day of testing with Barbera completing 75 laps. A best time of 1’44.889 put him sixth overall and as the second fastest Independent Team rider of the day. The speed is there for at least one lap, Barbera looking to find his early season form to again challenge the top ten. It’s now time to hit reset and head to Assen for the next round.
Hector Barbera: “This is not the result I was expecting today after what we achieved yesterday. The race was very difficult because of the tyres and after six laps I had no grip at all, the bike was spinning a lot and the traction control was working everywhere. In these conditions the bike was not working like yesterday and I had to slow my pace. The lack of grip was increasing lap by lap and the bike became un-rideable. I was patient and I tried my best to get the bike back to the garage, but I was more than five seconds slower compared with yesterday. We’ll try to find something in the test we have tomorrow, but I think that we need some help from Michelin.”