Moto2 racer Romano Fenati has been temporarily banned by MotoGP bosses after a crazy and reckless maneuver that saw him reach over and grab the brakes of rival Stefano Manzi at the San Marino Grand Prix. His moment of madness, fortunately, did not result in a crash, as Manzi somehow managed to stay upright after the incident. The race turned nasty after they had both been run off the track several laps earlier on and Fenati was clearly aggrieved by the clash and wanted to teach Manzi a lesson.
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Fenati punished with a two-race ban
Only Romano Fenati can explain what was running through his head at the moment he decided to reach across and engage the front brake on Manzi’s bike, causing his bike to wobble almost out of control. Not long afterward, Romano was black flagged and disqualified from the race. He was later banned for the next two races as a punishment for the mindless act. As a consequence, he will miss the Aragon GP and the Thailand GP.
Former racers disapprove of the lenient ban
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The leniency of the ban has drawn some criticism, with Colin Edwards particularly vocal about his disgust at the short ban for putting someone’s life in danger. Given that Fenati also has previously been in trouble for his behavior on the track, the two-race ban does seem incredibly soft. Whilst Manzi was luckily not injured in the incident, it could have been a very different story and he did end up pulling up in the race later on. Previously Fenato has been in trouble for kicking out at rival driver Niklas Ajo and he also pulled the cord of the same driver, causing the bike to shut down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cklpKVjEON4
The incident happened as they were going 125mph
In the latest incident, they were racing at 125mph at the time and the headlines could have been reporting a Moto2 tragedy this morning if Manzi had been unable to control the bike after having his brakes unexpectedly pulled.