Category: MotoGP

Rain has been once again the main concern during the Japanese Grand Prix qualifying sessions today at Motegi. Although the showers had eased compared to Friday, all free and qualifying session were held in wet conditions. Reale Avintia Racing riders Loris Baz and Héctor Barbera worked very hard to improve their pace and both managed to do so.

Loris Baz will start tomorrow’s 24-lap-race from the fifth row of the grid alongside Maverick Viñales and Cal Crutchlow. The Frenchman fought until the last minutes to get in Q2, but he missed it by just 0.018s. Still, Baz is happier than yesterday and hopes to be battling for a good position in the race tomorrow.

Hector Barbera will start one row behind his teammate. Even though the Spaniard doesn’t have the best feeling in wet conditions, he expects to make another step during tomorrow’s warm-up session and to get a good result on the race.

“It’s a real shame to miss Q2 by such a small margin and I’m disappointed, because I made two little mistakes on my best lap. But if we consider how we were during the whole weekend, far from our real pace in the wet and without a good feeling, my grid position is not so bad. It’s strange because in wet conditions, Hector and myself are normally always in the top ten, but at this track nothing seems to work. We tried many things over the weekend, but couldn’t make a significant step. I was quite angry this morning after FP3, but then in FP4 we found a better way. The conditions for Q1 weren’t very good, because the track was almost dry except for two corners. That made it impossible to go out with slick tyres, but at the same time, the rain tyres overheated in these conditions.”

“It’s been a difficult weekend. Usually, both Loris and I are fast in wet conditions, but here we were struggling to go faster. My problem is that when I enter the turn, the rear slides a lot and the bike wants to highside me. We are working to solve this problem and we have improved a lot compared to yesterday. We shiftet more weight towards the front of the bike and that gives me more confidence. But even though, the warm-up tomorrow will be crucial because we still need to improve my race pace. It seems that the race will be wet. We start from the sixth row behind Viñales and he will push to catch the front group, so the goal will be to get out there, give my best and maybe stick with him for a while.”

Reale Avintia Racing riders Loris Baz and Hector Barbera finished 20^th and 21^st on the first day of practice at the Twin Ring Motegi. The opening day was difficult because of the rain that came down on the Japanese venue during the whole day, and the forecast for the rest of the weekend is no different. That’s why it was especially important today to get the best feeling with the bike and the Michelin wet tyres.

This morning, Hector Barbera set the pace in the first few minutes, but then he dropped back in the standings as he was not able to improve his lap times. Things went the opposite way for Loris Baz, with the French rider struggling to get a good feeling during the morning session, but improving his pace in the afternoon. Only when he put fresh tyres in, the feeling took a turn to the worse again.

Tomorrow, both riders from Reale Avintia will be back on track with just one goal: the top ten in FP3. It will be tough, but both riders are confident about their Ducati’s performance in wet conditions.

“It was a difficult first day because although we like to ride in these rainy conditions, everything has been more difficult than normal. This morning, we haven’t found the right direction with the set up of the bike. Then in the FP2, I decided to go out with the same set of tyres from this morning and I felt it quite well, I had almost the same rhythm as the others with new rubber. But when I came in to get a new set of tyres, nothing worked the way it did before. We have to thoroughly check the bike and also check the tyres together with Michelin, because there simply was no grip. Coming in again for another tyre change was no option, because I knew that the number of tyres for the whole weekend is limited. Tomorrow we will try to enter Q2. We don’t have the same feeling as in Misano, but we will fight”.

“The first day has been quite difficult, but in the morning the feeling was not bad, we got through the whole session with the same tyres. This afternoon we decided to make the bike harder, trying to improve my feeling, but the result was much worse. I was stiffer on the bike and I had a hard time making it turn. We tried to make it a little softer with the preload, but it wasn’t any better. We’ll go back to the base set up tomorrow and we will try to fight for a good position on the grid for Sunday’s race. The good thing is that we will have rain for the whole weekend and we can work more on the wet set-up for the race.”

The Reale Avintia Racing team heads to the Twin Ring Motegi circuit for the 15^th round of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship, which will be the first of three races on consecutive weekends in Japan, Australia and Malaysia.

Hector Barbera and Loris Baz confront the last part of the championship eager to get a great result before leaving the MotoGP class at the end of the season. Both are determined to get the best out of the powerful V4 engines of their Ducati Demosedici GP.

The weather will be once again the main concern for riders and teams as rain is forecasted for the three days at the Japanese venue. However, this could be to the advantage of Reale Avintia Racing riders Barbera and Baz, as they have shown their master skills in wet conditions in the past.

“The weekend In Aragon was not the best and nothing went as planned, but I head to the triple with high motivation and I’m looking forward to a good result. I only have four races in MotoGP left and I want to enjoy all of them, but before having fun, we first have to work hard to get the maximum from the bike. I think that once I decided my future will be in Moto2, these last few races with my team will be better. I left all the pressure to get results behind and I’m more relaxed now, so everything will flow. Motegi had been one of the best circuits for me in the past and it features many hard braking areas, one of the strongest points of the Ducati. I’m looking forward to start the weekend!”

“I’ve been quite busy in the last three weeks working towards to get the best options in World Superbike for next year, but I also had some time to relax and train. But now we have to stay focussed for the last part of the season in MotoGP and in Motegi we start the first of three important races in Japan, Australia and Malaysia. My goal will be scoring points, as we missed our chances in the last two rounds. I think Motegi will suit the characteristics of our bike quite well. It’s a question mark what the weather will be like, but nevertheless, I’m confident for the upcoming races.”

Even though they were starting from the back of the grid, Reale Avintia Racing riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz were confident ahead of the race at Aragón. Both were keen to recover and score some championship points. But wet track conditions during free practice on Friday meant reduced time to set up their Ducati Desmosedici for the race, and today turned out to be a difficult challenge for both riders.

In the morning’s warm-up session, Spaniard Hector Barbera finished seventh fastest and was confident about his race pace, but lost some places during the first few laps and then was too conservative saving tyres for the last part of the race. When he started to push, it was too late and he finished the race in 18^th position.

Loris Baz had a great start from the sixth row of the grid and recovered some positions, but when tyre grip started to drop, he lost many places. He won the battle with Sam Lowes on the last lap, but finished the race 21^st and very far from the top.

In three weeks, the MotoGP World Championship resumes at the Twin Ring Motegi, which will be the first race of the triple in Japan, Australia and Malaysia on consecutive weekends.

“This was a strange race because of tyre durability. On the first few laps I was conservative, I was thinking that would be a race like Barcelona were everybody starts strong and then slows down by two seconds per lap on the last laps. I tried to safe my tyres, but then I realized that everybody was using the same strategy, but without decreasing their pace. I am still struggling with the same problems with the bike. When I open the throttle, I have chatter and I can’t feel the limit. I’m only happy about one thing, which is that my pace was really fast on the fourth lap. I hope to feel better in Japan, a track that suits this bike more.”

“It was a tough race and really difficult to manage; everything we tried during the weekend didn’t work and we were not able to improve. We always had the same issues, I lost grip everywhere. I had a good start and I was in the same group with Pol (Espargaró). I tried my best to stay with them, but it was impossible. I started to lose positions and staying on the bike was really tough. It’s a shame because I really wanted to score some points today, there are only four races left and I want to get the best out of them. Today was a disaster from the beginning to the end. We’ll see if things change for Japan where the bike should work better. I just want to enjoy riding these last races in MotoGP with my team.”

Following the wet practice sessions on Friday, the MotoGP riders started in full attack mode in warm and sunny conditions today. FP3 became crucial today and although Reale Avintia Racing riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz did their very best, they didn’t pass directly to Q2.

The only positive thing about today was Hector Barbera’s race pace in FP4, which made the Spanish rider confident on recovering some places during tomorrow’s 23-lap-race, which he will start from the 19th place of the grid. He will have the support of his home crowd, the best fans in the world, which means an additional boost of motivation for the race.

Loris Baz was faster than Hector in one single lap, and he will start the race from 17th place of the grid. But the Frenchman still have some work to do during the warm-up session to try to improve his feelings and his race pace.

“Today was a difficult day. Yesterday I said that it will be important to get the best base set up from the beginning, and we didn’t find it. All day long, the bike didn’t work at its maximum; we tried many changesm but we didn’t improve. We are losing time at many areas of the track although my best lap is not so bad. We must keep working and trying different things during warm-up to improve the rear grip, reduce the movements of the bike and get a better feeling. We’ll see how far we can get in the race. Once again, the goal will be the top ten.”

“The day didn’t go as planned, but unfortunately this is something that we have been experiencing from the beginning of the season. When I have to push hard for a lap time, I have too much chatter in the front which seems impossible to fix and which I’m not able to overcome with my riding style. I’m not comfortable riding the bike and this makes me brake before I should. It’s a shame because we always want to do the best in our home races. And although I’ll leave the team and the MotoGP class at the end of the season, I would love to celebrate a good result with Reale Avintia Racing team. I would like to finish the year with a sweet taste in the mouth, for my team, for the sponsors and also for myself. I’ll give my best tomorrow and I’ll try everything to be fighting for a top ten result, because this would be a big step in our preparation of the overseas triple.”

The opening free practice day for the Aragon Grand Prix was disrupted by rain, with showers hitting the track just before both 45 minutes practice sessions, leaving the tarmac in mixed conditions. It was certainly not the ideal scenario to get the maximum from the Michelin wet tyres. With the track drying out very quick, the tyres overheated. As a consequence, Reale Avintia Racing riders Loris Baz and Hector Barbera finished way back in the classification.

With dry weather forecasted for the rest of the weekend, today was also not the day to take unnecessary risks. Tomorrow, both Hector and Loris will be in full attack mode with their goal to fight for a top ten result and get through to Q2. If this it not possible, they will have another chance in Q1 to improve their pace and battle for the best possible grid position for the race on Sunday.

“It was a strange day because it seemed that it wouldn’t rain, but just five minutes before both session it started to drizzle anyway. In the morning I didn’t complete many laps and, although this afternoon I spent more time on the bike, the feeling on the wet was far from the one I had in Misano. In addition, when the track started to dry out ,the tyres overheated and I was not able to go faster. But to be honest, since we knew that the forecast for the rest of the weekend is dry, we didn’t take any risks. I just lapped around to get some information for the last few races of the season. Tomorrow we’ll just have one session to get in Q2, and I’ll give my best to achieve it. FP3 will be like a qualifying session, and we’ll see how the bike works and what we can get.”

“Today was a difficult day. Usually we go fast in Aragon, but nothing worked as we expected. The track was not fully wet and our bike works better when the track is completely wet. I’ve also used a very stiff swingarm and I also tried a lot of changes on the bike, but with a dry line and not too much grip, nothing we tried really worked. We spent the day testing different solutions and trying to find the way for the next races. Tomorrow will be dry, so we’ll see what happens. At the Spanish races we always give the maximum and I would love get a good result to celebrate with my fans. I also want to do my best in the last races with my team.”

Reale Avintia Racing is pleased to announce a two-year agreement reached with Xavier Siméon that will see the 28 year-old Belgian rider step up to MotoGP with the team and Ducati in 2018.

Xavi Siméon’s debut in the World Championship was in 2010, the same year the Moto2 class started as the new intermediate category, after clinching the World FIM Superstock 1000 Championship with Ducati. He also won the European Superstock 600 championship back in 2006, so his ‘four stroke experience’ is out of question. Since then, he has been racing in Moto2 with different bikes and teams. In 2013 he was on the podium for the first time at Le Mans, and it was the first time for a Belgian rider since Didier de Radiguès back in 1990. Two years later he got his first Moto2 World Championship win at the German Grand Prix, and he wrote his name in the Belgian rider winners list alongside Didier de Radiguès and Julien Vanzeebroeck.

Together with Reale Avintia Racing, Siméon will make history once again in 2018, when he moves up to the premier class as only the second Belgian rider after De Radiguès in the premier class, and when he will give his debut as the first ever Belgian rider in the MotoGP class.

“This is a fantastic opportunity and I have been working hard for it for a lot of years. I’m really happy to realize this dream that has followed me since my childhood. Day after day, I have done everything I can to get up there. My efforts, combined with those of Freddy Tacheny and Zelos’ crew ended up paying and I have to thank each of them. I conquered my world title in Superstock with a Ducati and I am delighted to find again the Bologna brand with the team Reale Avintia Racing. I’m really looking forward to discover the Ducati. Once again I would like to thank all of my partners and fans for believing in me and the support they are bringing in this new challenge!”

“I’m really happy to announce that Xavi Siméon will be riding for our team next season. He is a hard worker and he has won in Moto2, a very competitive and hard-fought category. After several seasons in the middle class, he will step up to MotoGP with high motivation, looking forward to learn everything. I think he will form a great team with Tito Rabat, who is going into his third season in MotoGP and will be the reference inside the team. But the 2017 season is still running and in the last five races I’m confident that we can celebrate a great result with our current riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz. Both have contributed to making our team bigger and better. I wish both of them the very best in the future.”

“I founded Zelos five years ago with only one ambition: make every effort to ensure that our Belgian athletes reach the highest level of their discipline. We haven’t seen a Belgian rider in the MotoGP class since a very long time, Today, I’m therefore particularly proud and moved about this process. Our country has the real potential to shine when it is given the means. For sure, it was not really easy but we found and convince our partners to join the adventure. With them, this opportunity became reality. I have to thank each of them a lot and especially Raúl Romero, CEO of Reale Avintia Racing. I am delighted about this 2 years partnership. Xavier has all our confidence to take up this magnificent challenge. He is the spearhead of the pathway we’ve created in Belgium.”

The Reale Avintia Racing Team is on the way to Alcañiz for the Aragon Grand Prix this weekend. The spectacular MotorLand Aragon circuit will be the venue of the fourteenth round of the MotoGP World Championship.

Both Reale Avintia Racing riders, Hector Barbera and Loris Baz, head to Alcañiz with great expectations and determined to forget the last Grand Prix of San Marino, where both were left without options after crashing out of the race. Now in Aragon, they will work hard from the first day to get a good result on Sunday.

Inaugurated in 2009, MotorLand Aragón hosted its first GP a year later and, since then, is one of the regular dates on the calendar. Its layout of 5,334 meters was designed by German Hermann Tilke and is one of the most technical of the championship, but also one of the riders’ favorites.

The Aragon Grand Prix is the last European round before the championship heads on its traditional overseas triple with the next race in Japan, Australia and Malaysia, before returning to Spain and to finish the season at Valencia.

“Aragon is a special circuit. It’s different from the rest of the Spanish Grand Prix tracks and the layout is quite technical, but it suits the Ducati well. It is the third race at home and it’s always nice to race in front of our fans. In Misano, we had no luck in the race, we crashed and we couldn’t finish, but we will continue giving the maximum from Friday to get a good result this weekend. This would be important because it would give us a much-needed boost ahead of the triple in Japan, Australia and Malaysia.”

“In Misano I tried everything. I didn’t want to settle for finishing fifth or sixth, because the pace I had in the warm-up Iwould have been strong enough for a top result, but it was not meant to be. We’ll see how things go in Aragon, where the target for the race weekend is the same as usual: To try to get into Q2 on Saturday and fight for the top ten on Sunday or at least to score some points. If we continue to working in the same way, I think it is very feasible. It does not seem like it’s going to rain, so we’ll have to use our heads to ensure a good result.”

The forecast was right and today heavy rain hit the Misano circuit. After the strong performance showed by Loris Baz during the warm-up session, the expectations of Reale Avintia Racing for the Grand Prix of San Marino were high. Hector Barbera was not as fast as Baz during the 20 minutes-session in the morning, but nevertheless his feeling in wet conditions was quite good and he was confident to fight for a top ten result in the race.

Both riders had a great start and passed some rivals, with Barbera 11^th and Baz 13^th after the first lap. But then it was the Frenchman who mounted his attack and moved up to fifth place in only a few laps, fighting with Jack Miller. When they caught Maverick Viñales, Baz lost the front and crashed on lap ten. He returned to the track and kept fighting to score some points. Lap by lap, he closed the gap with Bautista, but pushing too much with a broken steering damper from the first crash caused him to crash again. He didn’t give up,but bravely continued a second time and finished the race in 16^th place.

The Misano race ended also unlucky for Hector Barbera. The Spaniard was in seventh place, fighting with Pirro, Miller and Viñales for fourth position. But on lap 12 he suffered a big crash and his race was finished.

The MotoGP World Championship will resume in two weeks time on Spanish soil at the Aragon Grand Prix, where the Reale Avintia Racing riders hope to get a good result.

“From the first lap I realized that the feeling with the rear was not the same as this morning. But on the other hand, I had a lot of confidence with the front, so I pushed hard to gain some places. There are races that you do with your head and there are races that you do with your heart, and this one was a race to take risks. I did my best get closer to the front and every lap I could see how I was catching up with the front group. I was with Jack (Miller) who had a good pace and I wanted to catch Maverick (Viñales), but when I hit the brakes I lost the front and crashed. Then I came back on track, found back to my pace and wanted to score some points. But once again I crashed when I had Alvaro (Bautista) in front of me. Now we have to forget this race and think about Aragon, were I want to use my head in the race.”

“The crash was a pity because today we had a big chance to get a good result. But all in all, the weekend has been positive, because we started the race better than usual and after some laps we were close to the front. The conditions were tricky but we had to try. I was closing the gap with Viñales and Miller, maybe I pushed too much and I crashed. I was highsided from my bike and I was lucky to escape with no injuries. Now we have to focus on the next race in Aragon.”

Hector Barbera and Loris Baz will start tomorrow’s San Marino Grand Prix from the fifth row of the grid after finishing 13^th and 15^th in qualifying today at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.

The Spaniard crashed during FP4 and went out for qualifying with his second bike. In his first attempt, he was close to make the top two and in the second exit he missed Q2 by just one tenth of a second. His Reale Avintia teammate Loris Baz finished just 0.026s from Barbera and will start the race from the same row on the grid.

The MotoGP riders enjoyed another sunny and warm day at Misano, but rain is forecasted for tomorrow’s race. If the forecast is right, Barbera and Baz expect to fight for the top ten. If it’s dry, they hope to score some championship points.

“We have been close but we missed Q2 by just one tenth to finish in ‘12+1’ place. In FP4 I crashed at a point where I was losing a little bit of time this weekend. I tried to ride this turn in another way, but I touched the kerb and crashed. But nevertheless, we are not so bad considering that we still have the same problems from the beginning of the season, which is a lot of chatter when braking into the corners. Tomorrow I hope to make a good race and if it doesn´t rain, my goal is to be in the top ten. But if it rains, we can dream of something more”.

“In Q1 I hoped to be closer to the front, but in my second time attack I didn’t find any reference and had to do the lap on my own. Overall the day has gone quite well and I think we have a good pace for the race. In the fastest turn we lose too much, because this bike was designed to go with winglets and now there is not enough weight on the front. I had some big moments at that point during the weekend and to be honest, it is scary to lose the front when you go at 300 km/h. Now we wait what the weather will be tomorrow because if it rains, we can do well”.