Reale Avintia’s Hector Barbera says he comes into the second round of the 2017 season ‘physically stronger’, as he has been able to train harder now his collarbone is nearing full recovery.
The Spanish rider broke his collarbone in a training accident in Valencia following the Phillip Island test, and was forced to sit out the final pre-season outing at the Losail Circuit just two weeks before the first race.
Riding under-prepared and not a full strength, Barbera struggled for much of the Qatar weekend. However, the determined Spaniard still took the chequered flag in 13th behind team-mate Loris Baz.
With a full race distance on his injury and two weeks of hard training, Barbera has set his sights high at a circuit he enjoys.
“We head to Argentina physically stronger than in Qatar,” the Avintia rider said.
“My collarbone has almost recovered completely and I was able to train harder the last week. We go to this race with his expectations, which is very different from those ahead of the first round of the season.”
Barbera has taken his Ducati to the points in the previous two Argentine Grands Prix, finishing 13th in 2015 and a sensational fifth last year.
Though Termas de Rio Hondo circuit won’t be an easy track for those mounted on a Desmosedici, Barbera is nonetheless confident of being able to put in a repeat of his 2016 performance and take home a strong haul of points.
“I like the circuit. Last year I finished fifth and I think that it will be possible to get a great result again. We feel strong and I am confident about our chances to do a good race on Sunday.”
Baz mirrors team-mate Barbera’s optimism of a strong showing this weekend, as the French rider feels he put in his best performance in the dry last time out in Qatar despite not feeling totally at ease with his GP15.
“In the first race everything went really well, and that’s why I’m looking forward to racing in Argentina,” said Baz
“In Qatar I probably did my best dry race in MotoGP, even though my feeling was not the best. I’m convinced that it is possible to do even better. I love the layout of the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit and I want to do a good race.
“We will see how the weekend goes, we will keep working step by step to get the best set up and I’ll try to enjoy riding my bike.”
Comments.
Loading comments…