DIFFICULT RACE FOR THE PRAMAC D’ANTIN TEAM: ALEX BARROS
NINTH IN BRNO
The 12th round of the MotoGP World Championship ended at
the packed circuit of Brno circuit with Casey Stoner and his
Ducati Desmosedici taking victory. The competitiveness of
the red-blooded Borgo Panigale machines was confirmed once
again with three Desmosedici GP7's finishing in the Top Ten.
For the Pramac d’Antin Team, it wasn’t an easy
race. Alex Barros, the Brazilian bomber, started from the
fitfh row, and was forced to make a difficult comeback ride
to finally achieve the ninth position, and with it, nine more
important points for the Championship classification. For
the Team's spare rider, the Spaniard Ivan Silva, this was
an important opportunity to show the MotoGP class his fighting
spirit with a determined race and strong finish despite suffering
from arm pump. The Pramac d’Antin Team will spend two
more days in beautiful Brno, testing Bridgestone tires and
new material from Ducati Corse. Less than a week after the
tests are over, the Team heads to Misano, Italy, where they
will bring their all and fight for vital Championship points.
Alex Barros (44’18.102 – 9th position):
“I’m not satisfied with my result, as I had hoped
for something more at this race. I made a solid start, but
my grid position really hampered me. At the beginning of the
race, I was stuck with a lot of riders in front of me so I
wasn’t able to get into the right rhythm. As a result,
the tires didn't reach the optimum temperature and I wasted
a lot of time before they started to work at the right level.
After a couple of laps, I started going fast, but the lead
group was already too far to reach. I’m very unhappy
with this race result, but I'm optimistic about the future,
and about obtaining a good result in Misano.”
Ivan Silva (45’07.220 – 16° position):
“First of all, I want to say that I didn't expect anything
from this race, but at the same time I’m upset with
my result. I had a good start, but in the beginning I had
some difficulties riding because with a full fuel tank, the
bike felt different and I wasn't conditioned for it. Unfortunately,
I’m not used to riding such a powerful bike, and after
eight laps, I starting getting some serious arm pump. I decided
to back off and save all my energy for a late race charge
to catch and overtake Tamada. Another positive from this race
was that the Bridgestone tires did a very good job from the
start to the finish without any deterioration. I want to say
thanks to Pramac and the Team for letting me have this chance
to ride.”
Luis d’Antin – Team manager: “After
the two practice days, we knew that this would be a difficult
race for us, which in fact it was. I feel really bad for Barros,
because the opening laps tripped him up and he wasn't able
to cut loose and go. Anyway, coming back from the last positions
to finish ninth, he showed his typical clearness of mind during
races. Naturally, it was a little different for Ivan Silva.
For him, the important thing was to experience the Ducati
GP7, and in the end, despite his arm problems, he succeeded
in finishing the race. We know that our bike potential is
so high, we don’t want to be discouraged. On the contrary,
we are confident that from now until the end of the Championship
we will start to show our true light.
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