Fourth row for Hector Barbera in wet qualifying session

Today was another difficult day for Avintia Racing riders at Assen.

In the morning they could enjoy dry conditions but Hector Barbera’s bike suffered electronic issues on his number one bike that cost him a lot of time and he was only able to complete ten laps during the 45 minutes FP3 session. He managed to get in the top ten for a few minutes, but finally he lost the chance to move straight to Q2 and finished eleventh.

In the afternoon the rain finally appeared at the Dutch venue and Barbera was confident ahead Q1 after a positive final free practice session. The Spanish Avintia Racing rider did a string start of the 15 minutes session, but he crash in the final stages and finished third. But he’ll move forward one spot on the grid because of a penalty imposed on Andrea Iannone who will start from the last place.

For Michele Pirro the day was really complicated and he had bad feeling with the bike both in wet or dry conditions. Pirro crashed twice and this only reduced his confidence with the bike to finish the day in last position. Tomorrow he’ll start ahead Iannone from the back of the grid.

Hector Barbera | 1’48.830 | P13
“Today was a difficult day. In the morning I did just two laps, but they were positive. We started the day with some problems in one bike and the set up on the second one was not perfect, so I was able to do just two fast laps. In the afternoon FP4 I felt good riding under the rain and I was confident ahead Q1. We made a good lap at the beginning but then I crashed and I think this wet front tyre is a little bit hard and needs more grip. I went back on track with my other bike but I lost the chance to get in Q2. We’ll see the conditions tomorrow, because at Assen you never know. If it’s wet we’ll need to keep on the bike, because the grip is not good and finishing the race will be crucial. I’m ready to race on any condition”.

Source: Avintia