Small consolation, but a win is a win. Ducati - Title Ducati wins the MotoGP Open category with Hector Barbera and Avintia Racing AVINTIA RACING TEAM HECTOR BARBERA Hector Barbera won the Open title in the 2015 MotoGP championship in the final round of the season at Valencia. The Open class runs together with MotoGP, but there are slight differences in the regulations which allow a fuel capacity of 24 litres (compared with 20 for MotoGP) and the possibility of having 12 engines available throughout the season (compared with 5 for MotoGP bikes). The main difference however regards the electronics, where the Open bikes are fitted with an ECU and software provided by championship organizers Dorna. Despite these restrictions, the Ducati Desmosedici machine run by the Spanish team was able to hold off some significant opposition from riders of the calibre of Nicky Hayden, Stefan Bradl, Jack Miller and Loris Baz. It was Baz who proved to be the toughest rival to Barbera, the Frenchman remaining in contention for the title right down to the final round at Valencia. Hector Barbera's season was an impressive one, the Spaniard scoring points in most of the 18 races on the calendar. The Open category in fact does not have a dedicated system, but the riders score points based on their race classification, in line with MotoGP riders. As a result it is really tough for a bike entered in the Open category to score points, seeing as they are already up against 16 MotoGP riders competing for the top 15 positions, which are the only ones that give points. Barbera was on some fine form throughout the championship, heading the table from the opening round in Qatar and scoring points in the next 5 rounds. In the middle of the season, he had to fend off the attacks from Baz, who at Misano was able to take the lead of the championship, thanks to a fifth place obtained in variable weather conditions. The Spanish rider returned to the top in Japan, where during another race dominated by changeable weather conditions, he finished in ninth place, moving back to the top of the table thanks to 7 vital points. The race in Malaysia brought Barbera three more points to reinforce his leadership and allow him to arrive at the final round with a substantial cushion, which at the end of the 30-lap race produced a well-deserved title. Hector Barbera, the new Open champion, is a Spanish rider with considerable experience on Ducati MotoGP bikes, having raced first in Team Aspar in 2010/2011, before switching to Pramac in 2012. He then joined the Spanish team Avintia, which from the mid-2014 onwards ran him on an Open-spec Desmosedici machine. In 2015 Avintia Racing entered two Desmosedici GP14 Open-spec bikes for Barbera and Mike di Meglio with the precise aim of winning the Open class, something they achieved splendidly at Valencia. Well done Hector and well done Avintia Racing!
