With less than five hundred meters remaining in the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, MAPFRE Aspar rider Héctor Barberá was on course for a great finish. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, a brave move to try and regain positions failed to pay off, and he crashed out on the final turn of the race. Barberá had taken big strides forward over the course of the weekend, and showed his talent during the 28-lap contest. He had to adapt his riding style to a slippery front tyre right from the beginning, and had rivals Hiroshi Aoyama and Randy de Puniet closing in on him ahead of the chequered flag. Both passed him, and Barberá decided to lay it on the line with a spectacular pass attempt. It didn't quite go as planned, and he slid along the asphalt after lowsiding his Ducati. Unable to restart, his top ten finishing position chances ended in a flash. He hopes for a better result at the next round of the World Championship next weekend at Misano.
Héctor Barberá:
"It is a real shame that the race ended like this, after so many laps riding at the limit. After the opening four laps I realised that the front tyre had practically melted away. I made a sudden drop in pace, because I was trying to push the front end down and losing control on every corner. What I did was improvise with my riding style, and it took some five or six laps to get back to feeling comfortable. It should have been a lot sooner. The important thing is that I have regained confidence and ridden comfortably again, despite not having the front tyre in good condition. The last lap was going perfectly, until I reached the final sector. I knew that the final turn would be tricky, because the tyre wasn't responding at all and I could barely dip into the corner. That had meant that De Puniet and Aoyama passed me beforehand. I went all-or-nothing into the last corner, trying to regain a position, but unfortunately I lowsided. I enjoyed myself out there though, and gave 100%. We have taken a big step forward at this race and that leaves me satisfied, but I hope that we can continue like this and finish the race at Misano."
MAPFRE Aspar press release.
