Moto2 rider Romano Fenati sacked by team after grabbing rival’s brake
ByReuters
Updated 10/09/2018 at 13:45 GMT
Italian rider Romano Fenati was dumped by his Moto2 team, and was also set to lose a 2019 MV Agusta deal, after he grabbed a rival's brake lever while racing at 140mph in Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix.
Romano Fenati
Image credit: Eurosport
Fenati was disqualified on the spot and barred from the next two races.
"This has been the worse and saddest thing I ever seen in a bike race. True sportsmen would never act this way. If I would be (MotoGP promoters) Dorna I would ban him from world racing," Giovanni Castiglioni told his 565,000 followers on Instagram.
"Regarding his contract for a future position as rider of MV Agusta Moto2, I will oppose myself in every way to stop it. It won't happen, he doesn't represent our company true values," added Castiglioni.
Fenati later apologised for his "disgraceful gesture".
"I apologise to the whole sports world. This morning, with a clear mind, I wish it had been just a bad dream," he said in a statement.
"I think back to those moments, I made a disgraceful gesture, I was not a man. The criticisms are correct and I understand the resentment towards me. I want to apologise to everyone who believed in me and all those who felt hurt by my actions."
Fenati, who also caused headlines in 2015 when he was penalised for kicking out at Finnish rider Niklas Ajo in a Moto3 warm-up in Argentina, had been due to join MV Agusta's new Moto2 project next season.
The project is in partnership with Forward Racing, whose rider Stefano Manzi was on the receiving end of Fenati's actions.
British rider Cal Crutchlow, who finished third in Sunday's MotoGP race at Misano, told reporters the 22-year-old should have been banned for life.
"He should never compete on a motorcycle again," said the LCR Honda rider. "He should have walked back to the garage and his team should have just kicked him straight out the back.
"You can't do this to another motorcycle racer. We are risking our lives enough."
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