Pramac Ducati’s new rider Hector Barbera was reportedly arrested early Saturday morning for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Barbera, according to the Spanish press was stopped by the Valencia police while driving a friend’s Opel Astra at high speed (Barbera’s Ferrari had been rear ended earlier that evening) jumping red lights and engaging in a sort of ‘race’ with Porsche Cayman driven by another friend.
When the police stopped the two cars at the entrance of a discoteque where both drivers were given breathalyzer tests and Barbera’s blood alcohol content tested three times the level (0.
60 g/l) and he was arrested, while the other driver tested positive but within the law (0.
25 g/l) and was fined with points deducted from his license.
Barbera had this following press release issued to clarify his position.
Given the information appearing in various media about the arrest of Hector Barbera on Friday night January 6, the rider would make the following clarifications:“On Friday night I celebrated one last family Christmas dinner also attended by several friends with whom we later left by car for Valencia.
I was traveling as a passenger in a Opel Astra with a friend, who was stopped for a breathalyzer test and he exceeded the limit allowed by law.
It was he, not I, who tested at 0.
60.
In that situation, because I had only had a drink of alcohol, the police suggested I take the car and I took the test and resulted 0.
32 and 0.
28 in a period of 20 minutes.
I would have been irresponsible to drive, but having only drunk one glass I wasn’t feeling intoxicated.
I’d like to apologize to my team, my sponsors and MotoGP fans for what happened.
As a rider I should set an example and I can guarantee that this will never happen again.
I’m sorry.
”