What the bow tie he wears at Parc Ferme and on the podium has to do with his tattoos, Moto2 rider Aron Canet now reveals for the first time – MotoGP stars stand by him
Moto2 rider Aron Canet made it a point last year to tie a bow tie around his neck whenever he finished a race on the podium. The Spaniard always evaded questions about what it was all about.
Canet actually wanted to wait for his first Moto2 victory to reveal the secret about the bow tie on his neck. Although he has not yet won a race in the intermediate World Championship class, he is now revealing for the first time what the bow tie gesture at Parc Ferme and on the podium is all about.
“The bow tie is a sign in the direction of some people inside and also outside the paddock who have discriminated against me without knowing me, just because I have tattoos,” Canet is quoted as saying by the Spanish newspaper ‘AS’ on its online portal.
Canet made the confession at the end of September following the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi. There he had crashed while in the lead, not for the first time in his Moto2 career. And although he actually wanted to wait for his first win to reveal the secret, he now felt the time had come to do so.
Because of tattoos: some teams have rejected Canet
Canet’s unusual tradition of wearing a bow tie after podium finishes began in the 2021 season. “We were in talks with several teams from different racing classes at the time. Some of them refused to work with me because I have tattoos,” the Spaniard expresses his exasperation.
“If you have tattoos, you are not a better or a worse person,” Canet clarifies and states: “Some people considered me a gangster just because I have tattoos. Yet I’m the same guy I was at 16 when I didn’t have any. “
And in what is probably the most expressive sentence of his confession, Canet insists: “Whether you have tattoos or not, it doesn’t make you a better or worse person any more than if you wear a bow tie or not. “
MotoGP stars stand by Canet
Canet is getting support from the MotoGP stars. World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo says: “Sure, he has lots of tattoos. I know for some brands it’s important not to have tattoos. Others don’t care. Honestly, I can understand both sides. “
“It’s just a shame because he’s a really good driver. And when he is ready to move up to the MotoGP class, I hope for his sake that he finds a manufacturer,” said Quartararo, who has several tattoos himself and finds no problems with them at Yamaha.
Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia is another of the many riders in the World Championship paddock who have had one tattoo or another. On the Canet case, he says: “I find it strange that in this day and age there are still problems like this. I don’t understand how a team can reject someone just because he has many tattoos on his body. Whether someone has a lot of tattoos or not doesn’t make any difference.”
And Enea Bastianini, who was Canet’s teammate in the 2017 Moto3 season at Honda’s Estrella Galicia team, cites, “Aron is a good guy. I was his teammate and all I can say is that I just find the situation he is in now strange. “
