Xavi Forés was the best
independent, non-factory,
rider on the championship
ladder at the end of the
2018 season, finishing
the season in 7th place.
Somewhat surprisingly,
Barni Racing replaced
him with Michael Ruben
Rinaldi for 2019. Rinaldi
is clearly a favourite with
the Ducati factory and
Forés claimed that taking
Rinaldi was the only way
Barni could secure the
new V4 for the upcoming
season. Rinaldi came
away from the weekend in
12th place on the leader
board and clearly has
work to do if he wants to
repeat Forés’ performance
from last year, but he is a
young and talented rider
so there’s good reason to
think that he’s got more
to bring to the party.