LOCATELLI AND BARBERA LOSE GROUND IN TITLE CHASE
19 September 2004 - Aprilia

APRILIA’S world 125 championship challengers Roberto Locatelli and Hector Barbera both suffered bitter disappointment at this afternoon’s Japanese GP.

Locatelli finished in 14th place while Barbera’s title hopes suffered a huge blow when he was forced to retire from the restarted clash at the 4.8km Twin Ring Motegi circuit. Locatelli, who was running in second place before the stoppage, made a flying start and quickly took the lead from world championship rival Andrea Dovizioso. He held the advantage until lap eight when the championship leader pounced to seize the lead. Locatelli fought back immediately and led again until the end of lap 11 when Dovizioso again hit the front. Locatelli’s title hopes were seriously dented when he lost the front of his Aprilia RS machine while lying in second place on the last lap. He did manage to remount to collect two world championship points for 14th. The Italian said: “It has been a very bad day.”

Barbera was the victim of a cruel slice of luck as he lost crucial ground in the title battle. He was running in third position when the red flags came out. That meant he should have reformed on the grid on the front row, but his Seedorf Racing Team couldn’t restart his number one machine. It forced the Spanish teenager to ride his spare bike, but having failed to make the formation lap to take up his place on the front row, Barbera was forced to start from the back of the grid.

He battled gamely to try and force his way into points-scoring contention but was forced to retire while running outside the top 15 after nine laps. His non-finish left him trailing Dovizioso by 45-points with only four races remaining. He said: “This is the worst day of my life. I can’t explain how I’m feeling at the moment. It is really disappointing because we were really in with a chance after my win in Estoril.”

www.aprilia.com

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