Pramac Racing

The 26-lap race of the 2012 Iveco TT Assen Grand Prix started under a blue sky and with blazing sunshine that made a decided change from yesterday’s tricky weather conditions.
Hèctor Barberà took a deserved top seven finish at the legendary Circuit van Drenthe this afternoon.

The 25-year-old rider from Valencia made the best start of his 2012 MotoGP campaign and he ended the first lap in sixth place, showing phenomenal early confidence to fight with Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden and Cal Crutchlow for most of the race.

For more than two-thirds of the Dutch race, the Spaniard was able to ride his Ducati with strong determination and this great feeling allowed him to maintain an effective race pace, challenging for sixth place.

Unfortunately, on lap twenty-one, during a lively battle unfolding towards a gripping race end and trying to overtake Cal Crutchlow, Hèctor encountered a rear tire grip issue and he was unable to maintain his consistent pace, finishing in seventh place at the chequered flag.

Hèctor adds 9 points to his championship standing and heads to Germany for the Eni Motorrad Grand Prix next weekend brimming with confidence.

Hèctor Barberà – Pramac Racing Team Rider – 7th place

“I felt great, I had a lot of energy and the confidence with my Ducati was real. I had a good feeling with the bike from the first laps and I pushed as much as I could to stay with the group composed by Valentino, Nicky and Cal. We had the same race pace and this allowed me to fight with the group. With five laps to go, I tried to overtake Cal, but I lost the rear grip and from that moment I started to have an issue with the back tire, losing both my race pace and my confidence. I gritted my teeth until the flag to achieve seventh place and I’m happy and satisfied about the battle with the factory Ducati machines.”

Marco Rigamonti – Pramac Racing Track Engineer

“With the Qatar GP, today’s race was one of the best rounds of 2012. Hèctor got a brilliant start, staying in the group of riders who had the same race pace and fought for sixth position. It was a shame about the rear tire issue. Now we need to check our data, to understand when and why the issue started with the rubber, but we will arrive in Germany with high spirits.”

Forward Racing

An electronic problem forced Colin Edwards and the NGM Mobile Forward Racing team to enter the pits during the Dutch TT Assen GP. A complicated weekend and specially Friday’s qualifying session, in which the American rider was not able to take advantage of his potential in the Suter – BMW bike.

The efforts of the team have not been enough in order to solve the problems encountered this week, specially the ones with the traction control. Problems that have not disappeared during the race, forcing the American to enter pits after just a few laps.

Colin Edwards – Retired

“It has been a complicated weekend in many respects. Yesterday’s weather conditions didn’t help at all in finding the pace and at the same time we have found problems with various components of the bike. During today’s race I enter pits because the traction control didn’t work, as it should. It was a shame because the team has worked really hard but we don’t seem to be able to solve these problems. We hope that things will go better in Sachsenring next week.”

Sergio Verbena – Crew Chief

“Through out all weekend Colin did not have a good feeling with the electronics of the bike. Today during the race we had problems with the electronics and especially with the traction control. It was too dangerous to continue the race and he preferred to enter pits and retire. Next week we go to Sachsenring hoping that we will be able to solve the problems we have encountered this week.”