Aspar Aragon GP qualifying report

Close MotoGP Qualifying Session At Aragon

Hector Barbera, Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP

Photo by: Aspar Team

MAPFRE Aspar rider Héctor Barberá to start fourteenth on the grid after qualifying 1.5 seconds from pole

Yesterday's power shortage at Aragon saw an extended final free practice this morning but things were back to normal in time for qualifying this afternoon. Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa dominated both sessions, which were tight throughout the pack in terms of lap times despite Motorland being one of the longest circuits on the calendar. Just 2.6 seconds separate the entire grid on a day that saw Stoner smash the pole record by a full second.

MAPFRE Aspar rider Hector Barberá made an improvement of six tenths from one session to the next despite struggling with rear grip issues in some sections of the circuit. The Spaniard lines up fourteenth on the grid despite lapping just 1.525 seconds off Stoner's pole record time. With ideas for further improvements to make to his Ducati before tomorrow's warm-up and minimal differences between the riders' best laps today, Héctor knows he is more than capable of a strong showing at his third home race of the 2011 campaign.

14th Héctor Barberá 1.49.976 (25 laps): “Qualifying did not go as well as we'd hoped. Motorland was a good circuit for me last year and we have improved our lap times in comparison but a lot of other riders made massive strides. I was struggling a little bit in the changes of direction and the bike was sliding around quite a lot under acceleration. It is a shame because I am only a couple of tenths off seventh place but I'll be lining up in fourteenth. The lap times are close and we'll keep working tonight to try and improve the set-up for the race. It is a bittersweet taste and I don't like to be so far back but on the other hand I am satisfied that I gave it my all. The race pace looks good, I was just missing a quicker lap to get me further up the grid.”