After eight years spent rubbing shoulders with the MotoGP elite, Hector Barbera, to continue his career in Grand Prix, had to resolve to move down the range by taking up residence in a Moto2 that was unknown to him. And which is very different from the GP250 of his youth. A new adventure which will still take place within a Pons team which knows its job and with a Kalex which is the reference, even if KTM is starting to cut corners for it. It remained to be seen what Hector's mentality would be in this questioning. The Valencia off-season tests, which were the 2018 start of Moto2, reassured on the issue.
Hector Barbera wants to succeed and works to succeed. Otherwise, he would not be sixth in the general classification, established on the accumulation of times achieved during the three days spent in Valencia. Certainly, he discovered a fast teammate named Baldassarri, second in the standings and which put him a little over four tenths behind. But for a beginner, the rendered copy is not bad. Because Barbera is indeed to be considered a beginner!
« I'm happy because I progressed every day » confided the Spaniard. “ My feelings with a Moto2 machine are getting better and better. My limits still lie in my driving style. After eight seasons in MotoGP, the transition is difficult. In MotoGP, you have a “standing start” type of bike whereas you have to ride a Moto2 while maintaining maximum speed at the apex of the turns. It's an opposite style. I want to continue doing long series of laps in the next tests ».
« But overall I'm happy. I improve with each lap and I love the Kalex. Even if the bike has not yet reached its limit ". It will be recalled that Sam Lowes will be the second rider from MotoGP entered in Moto2 this year. The Englishman, however, knows the category very well, which he only left for one year, for a failed season with Aprilia.
Valencia Moto2 tests: Cumulative ranking
1. Mattia Pasini (Kalex) 1:35,779 min
2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Kalex) +0,016
3. Simone Corsi (Kalex) +0,136
4. Miguel Oliveira (KTM) +0,367
5. Isaac Vinales (Kalex) +0,433
6. Héctor Barbera (Kalex) +0,470
7. Marcel Schrötter (Kalex) +0,604
8. Xavi Virgo (Kalex) +0,638
9. Romano Fenati (Kalex) +0,918
10. Brad Binder (KTM) +0,950
11. Fabio Quartararo (Speed Up) +1,022
12. Bo Bendsneyder (Tech3) +1,064
13. Joe Roberts (NTS) +1,100
14. Jorge Navarro (Kalex) +1,198
15. Remy Gardner (Tech3) +1,254
16. Steven Odendaal (NTS) +1,286
17. Tetsuta Nagashima (Kalex) +1,508
18. Danny Kent (Speed Up) +1,528
19. Stefano Manzi (Suter) +1,529
20. Andrea Locatelli (Kalex) +1,620
21. Eric Granado (Suter) +1,635
22. Khairul Idham Pawi (Kalex) +1,649
23. Dominique Aegerter (KTM) +1,666
24. Federico Fuligni (Kalex) +2,147
25. Jules Danilo (Kalex) +2,469
26. Zulfahmi Khairuddin (Kalex) +2,814
