Straight after the last race in Italy, Reale Avintia Racing riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz continue on to the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit for the seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship.
The track has been revised to improve safety. The F1 layout will be used again this year, making the entry to the stadium both tighter and slower. The changes also include turn 12 and now it’s a right-left-right slow speed chicane between the stadium and the final corner of the Catalan circuit.
Barbera and Baz had the chance to get the first taste of the new layout two weeks ago, when they completed a successful private test in Barcelona. Both riders are confident about this weekend and looking forward to a good result on Sunday’s 25-lap-race.
“We head to Barcelona this weekend and I’m quite confident because we had a positive test there two weeks ago. But we have to get on track and confirm our speed from Friday. Overall, Mugello was a good weekend, but we learned an important lesson on Sunday, about how crucial tyre selection can be. Barcelona is a good track for us and I’ve been always fast there. The changes to the layout changed the track characteristics, which is the same for everybody. Right now we are in a situation were we need a good result, so we will give our best from the first day. In the first races we have been far away from where we should be.”
“Italy was a tough weekend and during the race I felt really sick, without a reason. So I tried to rest as much as possible during the last few days to be physically strong in Barcelona. I’m confident for this race because the test was good for us and I hope to have a trouble-free race weekend, not like at Mugello. The track changed quite a lot. Before, it was more fun to ride there, but these changes were made for safety reasons upon rider’s request. I’m keen to have a strong weekend and I am convinced that our test was useful because we will start with a good base from the first day.”
