Pramac Racing Team rider Hèctor Barberà was in sparkling form during qualifying for the Gran Premio d’Italia to secure a place on the first row of the grid for tomorrow’s eagerly anticipated Mugello race.
The amazing rider from Valencia took the first front row of his whole MotoGP career after a scintillating qualifying session this afternoon, and was separated by less than three tenths of a second from the pole man Daniel Pedrosa.
After two great qualifying sessions yesterday, Hèctor today was consistently fast and he had a sensational feeling with his Ducati, that allowed him to stop the clock at 1’47.545, an extraordinary qualifying lap time. Hèctor was the fastest Ducati in field and was also one of the only seven riders who set a best lap time under the wall of 1’48.000.
Now the Pramac Racing Team is confident and optimistic, waiting for tomorrow’s 23-lap race that will get underway at 14:00 local time.
Hèctor Barberà
“If yesterday somebody told me that I could start from the front row, I would not have believed it. But today I’m on the first row and tomorrow I will start Pramac Racing’s home race from an amazing third spot on the grid. It’s like a dream. I had to say thanks to my crew, who worked tirelessly during every session, understanding how to work with our Ducati machine. But there is another important point: I really enjoyed riding my bike and these kinds of sensations allowed me to have a more consistent and faster pace. Tomorrow I will try to have a good start and fight for the whole race with the front guys.”
Marco Rigamonti
“After yesterday's brilliant fourth place, during today’s qualifying session we caught the front row and tomorrow we will start from the third place on the grid. Amazing! We were waiting for a positive result, but we did not think about the first row! Both the air temperature and the track temperature were higher compared to yesterday, and this change shuffled the cards. Hèctor had good confidence with the bike and this allowed him to adapt in a better way at the hot track and air conditions. He was able to ride alone, without any reference from the other riders. We hope for a great race, even if the weather will be a crucial point in choosing the tyres for tomorrow’s race.”
Pramac Racing Press Release
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