Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/993191
IN THE WIND P52 BARBERA AXED FROM PONS MOTO2 TEAM AFTER DRUNK DRIVING CHARGE F ormer MotoGP rider Hector Barbera has lost his HP40 Pons Moto2 ride after being arrested for drunk driving in his native Spain. Barbera was pulled over in Va- lencia and breath-tested, where he recorded an alcohol level of 0.67 milligrams per liter. The legal limit is 0.25. Barbera was convicted and ordered to serve 22 days of community service and lost his driving license for one year, but it's his losing of his Moto2 ride that will have the most damage to his career. "Following the latest events in Valencia with the driver Hector Barbera on the night of (June 7, 2018), today (June 8, 2018), Pons Racing and Hector Barbera rescinded the contract of mutual agreement that united them for the current season 2018," a team statement read. "Pons Racing wants to thank Hector Barbera for his services and wishes him the best in the future." Barbera had struggled since stepping down to the Moto2 class this season in a career that has seen him start 139 MotoGP races between 2010 and 2017. His season hit rock bottom when he took out Tetsuya Nagashima at the recent Italian Moto2 event, an incident for which he was due to serve a grid penalty this week in Barcelona. His place in the HP40 Pons team at the Barcelona race will be taken by 21-year-old Augusto Fernande. CN End of the road for Hector Barbera? With no Moto2 ride, the future doesn't look promising. REA STAYS IN WORLDSBK J onathan Rea will stay in the WorldSBK Championship after agreeing to a new two-year deal with the Kawasaki Racing Team. The announcement puts to bed to any chance he might have had to move to MotoGP. "I am more than happy to continue in these next two sea- sons with the Kawasaki Racing Team," Rea said. "Since the end of last season, we have already started to talk about continu- ing our partnership, so it's nice to finalize everything now, so that we can concentrate on the remaining races of 2018. From the moment I arrived at the end of 2014 I was welcomed into the Kawa- saki family and since then we have achieved suc- cess beyond our wildest dreams. Here is where I want to stay. Of course, it feels natural to keep writ- ing this incredible story together, and I want to thank everyone in the Kawasaki Racing Team for believing in me and for this op- portunity. Together we will work harder than ever to keep the ZX- 10RR at the front of WorldSBK in the future. I have the best team of people around me to ensure that we can continue fighting for the World Championship." No word has yet been made regarding Rea's teammate, however it does not appear Tom Sykes will remain in the Kawa- saki Racing Team, with strong rumors linking him with a return to Yamaha. CN Rea will stay green for at least another two years.