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Romano Fenati, the man rather unheard of in the past (at least here in India) has been ruling the news portals, but for all the wrong reasons. He is a motorcycle racer in Moto2 who grabbed a rival’s front brake lever at over 200 km/h.
The incident happened in the Moto2 race of Misano GP. Stefano Manzi, also a known reckless rider, pushed Fenati wide quite a few times and at one point he made contact which resulted in both the riders ending up in gravel. This made Fenati lose his cool as he chased down Manzi and when was right beside him, he reached out and grabbed his front brake lever when both the riders were riding at speeds in excess of 200 km/h. Although, Manzi did not crash or suffer any injuries, this was a very dangerous and unacceptable move.
And now, the time for repercussions. On Sunday, the day of the incident, he was handed a two-race ban by an FIM panel of stewards. His team, Marinelli Snipers sacked him on Monday and by the afternoon of Monday he lost his 2019 ride with the MV Agusta team which is making a return to the premier class racing in 2019.
Also, the Italian Motorcycle Federation, FMI, revoked his license. This means he cannot take part, not only in any national championships, but any international championships as well because that license is also issued by the national body, which in Fenati’s case is the FMI. He has also been summoned by the international motorcycle federation (FIM) headquarters in Geneva where he’ll have to explain his actions.
And to take things a notch further, a consumer-rights group, an Italian nonprofit called Codacons announced Monday that it reported Fenati to the local Rimini Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the incident, asking the judiciary to assess whether the gesture of Fenati can configure any relevant criminal offenses, including that of attempted murder, and in the case proceed against him with the criminal action that will be deemed appropriate.
After the race itself, Fenati accepted his mistake and has apologized profusely. He also intends to withdraw from racing, complete his studies and work in his grandmother’s hardware store. He has even been receiving death threats after the incident, as told by Fenati himself.
His statement: "Now, I'm going back to school. With a cool head, I say that I will not race anymore, but I do not really know how I would see myself in five years. At the moment, I just want to put all this behind me. I apologize to the whole sporting world. This morning, with a clear mind, I wish it had been just a bad dream. I think back to those moments, I made a disgraceful gesture, I was not a man!”
“A man would finish the race and then go into Race Direction to try and get justice for the previous episodes. I should not have reacted to provocations. The criticisms are correct and I understand the resentment towards me. I want to apologize to everyone who believed in me and all those who felt hurt by my actions. An image of me and of the sport has come out, [and] everything [looks] horrible. I'm not like that as those who know me well knows!” he added.
He also said, “In my career, I've always been a good rider. Last year I was one of the few who did not receive any penalties, I never put someone else's life in jeopardy; on the contrary, I have always maintained that there are dangerous riders on track, with a dangerous riding style. It's true, unfortunately, that I have an impulsive character, but my intention was certainly not to hurt a rider like me, but I wanted to make him understand that what he was doing was dangerous and that I could have made some mistakes as well as he had just made them to me! I do not want to justify myself, I know that my gesture is not justifiable. I just want to apologize to everyone. Now I will have time to reflect and clear my ideas.”
He came to Moto3 and in his first race, he finished second, behind Maverick Viñales. In his second race, at Jerez, in difficult conditions, he won by 36 seconds. Things got a bit difficult for him afterwards though. But he rediscovered his form when he was invited to become part of the VR46 Academy, and signed to ride a KTM with the Sky VR46 Racing Team the following year. The change did him good, winning four races and finishing fifth in the championship.
But lack of success in the following years made him show signs of frustration. In a warm up in Argentina, he lashed out at Niklas Ajo inexplicably, first trying to kick him, then stopping next to him for a practice start, and reaching over a flicking his kill switch. His temper issues also made things go bad to worse from him. The relationship between Fenati and his crew deteriorated during the season, with arguments becoming increasingly frequent. In Austria, an argument with the team became so heated that the Sky VR46 team sacked him on the spot.
When he came back after showing signs of improvement, he came back and raced for Marinelli Snipers team, he won three races and was the only one who could give consistent and tough competition to the eventual champion, Joan Mir. But his move to Moto2 again proved to be a bit difficult as he struggled to score points. And then, we guess it was the pent-up frustration and ‘somewhat’ instigating actions from Manzi made Fenati do something that would cost him his career as a racer.
Many other racers have had a lot to say about his actions. Cal Cruthclow said, “I think he should never race a motorcycle again. He should have walked back in his garage and his team should have just kicked him straight out of the back. You can’t do this to another motorcycle racer. We are risking our lives enough. If somebody grabbed your brake - sure, maybe there was contact before, but there is contact all the time. I don’t think from the replay what Manzi did, he tried to pass. Fenati ran wide, he tried to go under him, and they made some contact. This is racing. But to grab the brake lever on the straight he deserves to just be kicked straight out.”
Pol Espargaro said, “This is something that we hope to never, ever, ever see again in racing. This is not racing. I feel shame if someone sees the races and sees a professional rider do something like that. I mean, you can be frustrated. You can be really angry. But this is something that the riders can never do because after people see on TV and as I said this is a shame. I apologize in the name of the riders because this was a shame.”
"There is no punishment, even one or two races. A professional rider cannot do something like that. I mean for sure Race Direction will take the measures they think. It's their job. But whatever they do, it's not going to be enough because somewhat who does that is not a professional rider and if a rider that is not professional is racing here it's not good." He added.
Although, his actions were unjustifiable, it does pain us to see a talented racer like him losing out on what could have been a wonderful career.
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The incident happened in the Moto2 race of Misano GP. Stefano Manzi, also a known reckless rider, pushed Fenati wide quite a few times and at one point he made contact which resulted in both the riders ending up in gravel. This made Fenati lose his cool as he chased down Manzi and when was right beside him, he reached out and grabbed his front brake lever when both the riders were riding at speeds in excess of 200 km/h. Although, Manzi did not crash or suffer any injuries, this was a very dangerous and unacceptable move.
And now, the time for repercussions. On Sunday, the day of the incident, he was handed a two-race ban by an FIM panel of stewards. His team, Marinelli Snipers sacked him on Monday and by the afternoon of Monday he lost his 2019 ride with the MV Agusta team which is making a return to the premier class racing in 2019.
Also, the Italian Motorcycle Federation, FMI, revoked his license. This means he cannot take part, not only in any national championships, but any international championships as well because that license is also issued by the national body, which in Fenati’s case is the FMI. He has also been summoned by the international motorcycle federation (FIM) headquarters in Geneva where he’ll have to explain his actions.
And to take things a notch further, a consumer-rights group, an Italian nonprofit called Codacons announced Monday that it reported Fenati to the local Rimini Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the incident, asking the judiciary to assess whether the gesture of Fenati can configure any relevant criminal offenses, including that of attempted murder, and in the case proceed against him with the criminal action that will be deemed appropriate.
After the race itself, Fenati accepted his mistake and has apologized profusely. He also intends to withdraw from racing, complete his studies and work in his grandmother’s hardware store. He has even been receiving death threats after the incident, as told by Fenati himself.
His statement: "Now, I'm going back to school. With a cool head, I say that I will not race anymore, but I do not really know how I would see myself in five years. At the moment, I just want to put all this behind me. I apologize to the whole sporting world. This morning, with a clear mind, I wish it had been just a bad dream. I think back to those moments, I made a disgraceful gesture, I was not a man!”
“A man would finish the race and then go into Race Direction to try and get justice for the previous episodes. I should not have reacted to provocations. The criticisms are correct and I understand the resentment towards me. I want to apologize to everyone who believed in me and all those who felt hurt by my actions. An image of me and of the sport has come out, [and] everything [looks] horrible. I'm not like that as those who know me well knows!” he added.
He also said, “In my career, I've always been a good rider. Last year I was one of the few who did not receive any penalties, I never put someone else's life in jeopardy; on the contrary, I have always maintained that there are dangerous riders on track, with a dangerous riding style. It's true, unfortunately, that I have an impulsive character, but my intention was certainly not to hurt a rider like me, but I wanted to make him understand that what he was doing was dangerous and that I could have made some mistakes as well as he had just made them to me! I do not want to justify myself, I know that my gesture is not justifiable. I just want to apologize to everyone. Now I will have time to reflect and clear my ideas.”
He came to Moto3 and in his first race, he finished second, behind Maverick Viñales. In his second race, at Jerez, in difficult conditions, he won by 36 seconds. Things got a bit difficult for him afterwards though. But he rediscovered his form when he was invited to become part of the VR46 Academy, and signed to ride a KTM with the Sky VR46 Racing Team the following year. The change did him good, winning four races and finishing fifth in the championship.
But lack of success in the following years made him show signs of frustration. In a warm up in Argentina, he lashed out at Niklas Ajo inexplicably, first trying to kick him, then stopping next to him for a practice start, and reaching over a flicking his kill switch. His temper issues also made things go bad to worse from him. The relationship between Fenati and his crew deteriorated during the season, with arguments becoming increasingly frequent. In Austria, an argument with the team became so heated that the Sky VR46 team sacked him on the spot.
When he came back after showing signs of improvement, he came back and raced for Marinelli Snipers team, he won three races and was the only one who could give consistent and tough competition to the eventual champion, Joan Mir. But his move to Moto2 again proved to be a bit difficult as he struggled to score points. And then, we guess it was the pent-up frustration and ‘somewhat’ instigating actions from Manzi made Fenati do something that would cost him his career as a racer.
Many other racers have had a lot to say about his actions. Cal Cruthclow said, “I think he should never race a motorcycle again. He should have walked back in his garage and his team should have just kicked him straight out of the back. You can’t do this to another motorcycle racer. We are risking our lives enough. If somebody grabbed your brake - sure, maybe there was contact before, but there is contact all the time. I don’t think from the replay what Manzi did, he tried to pass. Fenati ran wide, he tried to go under him, and they made some contact. This is racing. But to grab the brake lever on the straight he deserves to just be kicked straight out.”
Pol Espargaro said, “This is something that we hope to never, ever, ever see again in racing. This is not racing. I feel shame if someone sees the races and sees a professional rider do something like that. I mean, you can be frustrated. You can be really angry. But this is something that the riders can never do because after people see on TV and as I said this is a shame. I apologize in the name of the riders because this was a shame.”
"There is no punishment, even one or two races. A professional rider cannot do something like that. I mean for sure Race Direction will take the measures they think. It's their job. But whatever they do, it's not going to be enough because somewhat who does that is not a professional rider and if a rider that is not professional is racing here it's not good." He added.
Although, his actions were unjustifiable, it does pain us to see a talented racer like him losing out on what could have been a wonderful career.
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