Hector Barbera will leave Qatar a happy man despite a late mistake which cost him a possible sixth place in the opening race of the season. The Pramac rider was challenging for the position of top Ducati before outbraking himself as he chased Nicky Hayden. He slipped to ninth but was encouraged by the pace he had before his error.
Overall I'm pleased with the result of the race. I enjoyed a lot riding on this track. It's a pity for not a good start because my race pace was around 5th or 6th position. When I tried to take 6th position I made a mistake, losing the bike and also some positions. My GP12 had a good tune-up for this race and I could have ended up as the first Ducati rider if I didn't make a mistake. Anyway my feeling with this bike is very positive and I'm sure that during this 2012 season I'm going to be able to achieve some consistent results. The next race is in two weeks at Jerez de la Frontera, where we have worked well during the winter test so I'm confident about it.”
Team Manager Francesco Guidotti agreed with his rider and has challenged him to keep up the good work in Spain three weeks from now.
If it wasn't for a bad start, the pace was good and we could have scored a 6th place. We made progressive improvements during this weekend and now we are looking forward to Jerez”.