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Italian motorbike rider Romano Fenati says he's sorry for grabbing a rival's brake lever while travelling at more than 200 kilometres per hour in Sunday night's second-tier San Marino Grand Prix.
Key points:
- Fenati is dumped by his team after grabbing a rival's brake lever at 225kph
- A contract for next year with a different team is also scrapped
- Team president describes incident as the "saddest thing I ever seen in a bike race"
The 22-year-old has been dumped by his current Moto2 team, and is also set to lose his contract with another manufacturer for next season.
Fenati apologised for what he described as a disgraceful gesture, posting on Facebook he wished the incident was a dream.
"This morning, with a clear mind, I would have wished it to be just a bad dream," he said.
"The criticisms are correct and I understand the resentment towards me.
"I want to apologise to all those who believed in me and all those who felt hurt by my actions."
Contracts torn up
The Marinelli Snipers team announced they had terminated Fenati's contract on account of, "his unsporting, dangerous and damaging conduct for the image of all".
"With extreme regret, we have to note that his irresponsible act endangered the life of another rider and can't be apologised for in any way," the team said.
The boss of Italian bike maker MV Agusta also vowed to scrap a contract for 2019.
Fenati was disqualified on the spot and barred from the next two races after the 225kph incident at Misano on Italy's Adriatic coast that made waves around the world.
Moto2 is a feeder series one rung below the main MotoGP class.
"This has been the worse and saddest thing I ever seen in a bike race. True sportsmen would never act this way," MV Agusta president Giovanni Castiglioni told his 565,000 followers on Instagram.
"If I would be [MotoGP promoters] Dorna I would ban him from world racing.
"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."
Not the first incident
Fenati also caused headlines in 2015 when he was penalised for kicking out at Finnish rider Niklas Ajo in a Moto3 warm-up in Argentina.
MV Agusta's new Moto2 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, told reporters Fenati should have been banned for life.
"He should never compete on a motorcycle again," the LCR Honda rider said.
"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."
ABC/Reuters
Topics: motor-sports, sport, italy
First posted