Héctor_Barberá

Héctor Barberá

Héctor Barberá

Spanish motorcycle racer


Héctor Barberá Vall (born 2 November 1986) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competes in MotoAmerica aboard a BMW S1000RR.[1]

Quick Facts Nationality, Born ...

Career

Born in Dos Aguas, Valencia Province, Barberá began his World Championship career at the age of 15 in the 2002 125cc world championship, under the guidance of Jorge Martínez "Aspar", who teamed Barberá and fellow youngster Ángel Rodríguez up with the experienced Pablo Nieto.

In his first season Barberá established himself as the most promising rider of the three and in 2003 he broke through, with his first victory at Donington Park making him one of the youngest riders ever to win a Grand Prix. A strong finish to the season saw him take third place in the championship and he signed up for a title challenge with Seedorf Racing in 2003.[2] Several inopportune crashes and mechanical failures derailed his hopes but victory in the final race secured the runner-up spot and a factory ride with Fortuna Honda in the 250cc class for 2005.[2] After two years with the team he moved to Team Toth in 2007.[2]

Barberá riding an Aprilia at the 2007 Italian Grand Prix.

Barberá survived a huge crash during the Italian round of the championship on June 1, 2008. Running second behind Marco Simoncelli on the penultimate lap who tried to defend his lead by changing his line on the straight, Barberá slipstreamed onto Simoncelli's back wheel and clipped it with his front brake lever. His bike somersaulted through the air, with Barberá escaping somewhat uninjured. However, a further crash in practice at Motegi left him with two spinal fractures, ending his season.[3]

Hector Barbera riding a Ducati MotoGP bike at the 2011 Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix

In the 2009 250cc world championship, Barberá won three races along with five other podium results to finish second to Honda's Hiroshi Aoyama.[2] Barberá won the 2009 Valencia Grand Prix, the final two-stroke, 250cc race in Grand Prix history, as the class was to be discontinued in favor of the four-stroke Moto2 class in 2010.[2] On 20 August 2009 it was announced Barberá would move to MotoGP in 2010, riding for the Aspar Team aboard Ducati customer bikes.[4][5] Barberá finished the 2010 MotoGP season in twelfth place, and followed on in eleventh place in 2011. On 7 November 2011, it was announced that he was moving to Pramac Racing for the 2012 season.[6]

In 2016, Barbera finished a career best of tenth place in the MotoGP standings. That year, he had his only two races for a factory MotoGP team, replacing Andrea Iannone at Ducati Corse.[7] Barbera switched to Moto2 after failing to find a MotoGP ride for 2018.[8] He competed at the last Grand Prix of his career that year at Mugello.[9]

Barbera later competed in World Superbikes, World Supersport, MotoAmerica, and British Superbikes.[10][11]

Barbera was sentenced to six months in jail for assault and battery in 2013.[12]

He was ordered to serve 22 days of community service in 2018 for driving under the influence, which caused him to lose his Pons Racing Moto2 ride.[9][13]

Barbera was accused of stealing a Yamaha Supersport bike owned by his own team, Team Toth, in 2019.[14][15]

In 2023, he was investigated for fraud and forgery.[16][17] It was also revealed by Andorran news website Altaveu that he had a search and arrest warrant issued against him since 2019 for another undisclosed affair.[18]

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

By season

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By class

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Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) [2]

More information Year, Class ...

Supersport World Championship

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

More information Year, Bike ...

Superbike World Championship

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

More information Year, Bike ...

AMA Superbike Championship

Races by year

More information Season, Bike ...

British Superbike Championship

By year

More information Year, Bike ...

References

  1. "Scheibe Racing Signs Héctor Barberá To Superbike Ride". 21 April 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  2. "Héctor Barberá". motogp.com. Dorna Sports. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  3. "Simoncelli pole, Barbera out". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 27 September 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  4. English, Steven (20 August 2009). "Barbera to join Aspar in premier class". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  5. "Aspar-Ducati satellite deal imminent". gpupdate.net. GPUpdate. 22 July 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  6. "Barbera in for Iannone, Mike Jones debuts at Avintia". The Official Home of MotoGP. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  7. "Barbera and Baldassarri at Pons HP 40 next season". The Official Home of MotoGP. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  8. "Hector Barbera Fired After Drink Driving Charge". Cycle News. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  9. Swarts, David (16 March 2022). "MotoAmerica: Tytlers Cycle Racing Fielding Barbera & Jacobsen On BMW Superbikes". Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  10. Bennetts. "Hector Barbera is back in Bennetts BSB". Bennetts UK. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  11. Tibu, Florin (11 May 2013). "MotoGP: Hector Barbera Sentenced to Six Months in Jail". autoevolution. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  12. "Moto2: Barbera fired following drink driving conviction". www.motorcyclenews.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  13. Barstow, Ollie (11 May 2020). "Bizarre case of Hector Barbera and a stolen WorldSSP bike nears trial". Visordown. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  14. Irran, Sep (12 May 2020). "Did Hector Barbera steal his own WorldSSP race bike?". BikesRepublic.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  15. "Ex-GP rider Héctor Barberá: The judiciary is investigating". www.speedweek.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
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