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Moto2: MV Agusta Cancels 2019 Moto2 Contract with Romano Fenati

Giovanni Castiglioni has announced that we will stop Romano Fenati’s contract with MV Agusta for the 2019 Moto2 Championship.
Fenati caused an uproar after squeezing Stefano Manzi’s front brake lever at the San Marino GP.
Fenati has been given a two-race ban but many are calling for his outright ban from motorcycle racing.

Giovanni Castiglioni announced on his Instagram account that MV Agusta he will stop Romano Fenati from his contracted ride for MV Agusta in the 2019 Moto2 season.

Hot headed Moto2 rider Fenati caused an uproar among racing fans for his actions at the San Marino Grand Prix yesterday. Ironically, Manzi is the current rider for the Forward Racing Team who are the team running MV Agusta and contracted Fenati for next season.

Romano Fenati Picked to Ride MV Agusta Moto2 Race Bike

Giovanni, the CEO of MV Agusta, did not mince his words and opined that Fenati’s actions was the “worse and saddest thing he had seen in a bike race,” before going on to say that he would have handed Fenati a lifetime ban if he was with Dorna.

View this post on Instagram

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 Dorna I would ban him from world racing . Regarding his contract for a future position as rider of MV Agusta Moto 2 , I will oppose myself in every way to stop it . It won’t happen , he doesn’t represent our company true values ⚔️⚔️⚔️ #mvagusta #rc #moto2 #fairplay

A post shared by Giovanni Castiglioni (@mvagusta.gc) on Sep 9, 2018 at 11:33pm PDT

Indeed, Fenati had been handed a 2-race ban by Dorna and FIM from the next GP but everyone, including us, is of the opinion that it is not enough. Banging fairings is one thing but applying the brakes at 230 km/h could have caused Manzi to flip over.

If the race ban is ridiculous, adding insult is Dorna docking Manzi with a six-grid placing penalty at the next GP. Other MotoGP riders have done worse stuff and gotten away.

Manzi had lunged inside Fenati at Turn Four when the latter went wide. Fenati turned back toward the apex and the two came together, and almost crashing. However, both riders managed to collect themselves and continue riding. Fenati then caught up with Manzi after Turn Seven and squeezed the latter’s front brake lever when they were side-by-side. Manzi would go on to crash in a separate incident two laps later, while Fenati was black flagged for “irresponsible riding.” Please click on the video below to watch.

Aprilia Malaysia Inaugural Track Day

Aprilia owners in Malaysia had a great day at the Sepang International Circuit yesterday.
Didi Resources, the new custodians of the brand organized a track day as promised.
A great mix of Aprilia models took to the track.

As promised by Didi Resources, the new custodian of Aprilia motorcycles in Malaysia, the inaugural (under new management) Aprilia Malaysia Track Day went off without a hitch yesterday at the Sepang International Circuit.

Didi Resources Organizes Inaugural Aprilia and Modclass Track Day

Besides rides and convoys, organizing a track day for Aprilia owners is the right thing to do as the activity demonstrates the manufacturer’s “Be a Racer” philosophy.

It was great to see owners showing up from all over Malaysia and even Singapore on all sorts of Aprilia models, because we are used to seeing the RSV4 superbike in the Malaysian Superbike Championship (MSBK), Malaysian Speed Foundation (MSF) and track days on weekends.

Instead, this track day organized by Didi Resources provided the opportunity to ride on track on any bike, more like a “Run what ya brung” track weekend.

Indeed, we saw the Shiver 750, Tuono V4, SL1000R, RSV Mille (the father of the RSV4), RS250 two-strokes, and an SR-Max 300 scooter ridden by Khairul Hafiz.

Of course, the riders attended a safety briefing after registration. Aprilia Malaysia had also prepared race suits and riding gear for rental to those who don’t own them.

It had rained on the track from early morning and the open track day riders came back to report on a slippery track after their first session. However, the Aprilians were lucky as their sessions started close to noon and went on through late afternoon. The sun had started to shine and dried the track by then.

It was visible that the participants had a great day although they were also exhausted after riding under the hot sun. Didi Resources also provided refreshments and lunch so that they had nothing to worry about except of having fun.

Lastly, while there weren’t many who took the track as expected despite the large number of Aprilians who showed up, we believe there will be many more in the next track days. We would also like to add that they event went without a hitch, and there was no mishap.

PICTURE GALLERY

Modclass Speedway introduces modern classics to SIC!

The very first Modclass Speedway track day session was held at the Sepang International Circuit.
Around 20 modern classic bike owners took their machines for some fun time around the track.
The Modclass Speedway was organised by Tiga Moto and supported by Moto Guzzi Malaysia.

When was the last time you witness a group of modern classic bikes tearing it up in the track? It is certainly a rare occasion and earlier today, the Modclass Speedway organised the very first outing for some enthusiastic modern classic bike owners around the Sepang International Circuit (SIC). (more…)

Moto2 2018: Romano Fenati Red Mist Moment at San Marino GP

Romano Fenati’s red mist moment in Moto2 at San Marino was captured on camera.
The fiery Italian had a run in with Stefano Manzi in the Moto2 race.
Fenati was DQ’d in the race but expect a heavy penalty soon.

If Moto3 is usually always exciting, let us be honest, Moto2 is snooze inducing (to put it kindly). The Moto2 contest at the San Marino GP was going to be no different, what with Francessco Bagnaia running away with his home grand prix. Well, that was until the red mist descended on racing bad boy Romano Fenati.

Fenati had been running down in 15^th, when Stefano Manzi snuck his bike inside the formers into a right hander. When Fenati turned toward the apex, both riders came together and ran wide into the sand trap but managed to stay upright.

It was visible at that moment that Fenati was furious and he gesticulated wildly at Manzi.

As the camera focused adoringly (read: boringly) on the race leader, it suddenly cut away to Fenati’s team preparing the pitboard signaling that the rider had been DQ’d (disqualified). Soon, the we saw the slow-motion footage of Fenati riding up beside Manzi, then reaching out with his left hand to squeeze the latter’s front brake lever.

Romano Fenati had great talent and was one of the first riders picked by Valentino Rossi himself to ride in his SKY Racing Team by VR46 in the Moto3 Championship back in 2014. He was sometimes brilliant while totally nowhere in the remainder. Yet, the team knew he had raw talent and retained his services.

In 2016, he was suddenly dropped beginning the Austrian GP and his contract for the remainder of the year and 2017 was terminated. The team would later cite “behavioral issues in conflict with team policies.”

But Marinelli Honda decided to take gamble and signed Fenati for the 2017 Moto3 season. The team was rewarded with three victories and five second places as Fenati finished second overall.

He moved up to Moto2 this and suffered tremendously as he languished near the tail end. However, MV Agusta has signed him up for their foray into Moto2 in 2019.

Romano Fenati Picked to Ride MV Agusta Moto2 Race Bike

In our opinion, such action is unquestionably dangerous and inexcusable, besides being just one of a few cases. Dorna and the FIM has not published any actions on Fenati at the moment but expect a heavy penalty.

MotoGP 2018: Andrea Dovizioso Dominates at San Marino GP

Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso controlled the San Marino MotoGP race and won.
Pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo crashed out with 2 laps to go.
Marc Marquez finished 2^nd to extend his championship lead.

Jorge Lorenzo had been fully expected to win the MotoGP class at the San Marino GP after yesterday’s magnificent qualifying, in which he broke the track record twice over.

But it was a different scene during the morning’s warm-up session when Marc Marquez was the fastest, followed closely by the Ducati factory pairing of Andrea Dovizioso and pole-sitter Lorenzo.

That was not the full news, however, as the times of the top 11 riders were covered by less than 1 second.

There was also hope of a revival for the Movistar Yamaha factory team after Maverick Vinalez put his bike third on the grid.

Lorenzo shot into the lead during at the start, trailed by his teammate Dovizioso and the rest of the field. Dovi then started to shadow Lorenzo and finally overtook him on Lap 4. Behind them, Marquez fought his way through the group of riders to break free into third. He rode as hard as he could and caught the Lorenzo midway through the race.

Dovi meanwhile, rode a steady race and started to open up a gap until he was 1.8 seconds ahead of the chasing two.

Marquez made his move on Lorenzo with some fifteen laps to go, but Lorenzo fought back tenaciously. They kept passing and repassing each other but it was Lorenzo who finally made his overtake stick and started to close down on his Ducati teammate with 8 laps to go.

But Dovi managed to react to Lorenzo’s push. Behind him, Lorenzo was in turn pushed on by Marquez. Lorenzo decided to push harder and attempt to catch Dovi but made a mistake and low-sided his bike with two laps to go, handing 2^nd place to Marquez.

Cal Crutchlow had broken free and finished on the final step of the podium.

Alex Rins battled with with his ex-Suzuki teammate Vinalez and prevailed to finish 4^th. Pedrosa rode a quiet race to finish 6^th while Rossi crossed the line in a lowly 7^th.

Marquez extends his championship lead with 201 points, from Valentino Rossi who has 142 and Jorge Lorenzo with 130 points.

Moto3: Lorenzo Della Porta Wins Dramatic San Marino Race

The San Marino GP Moto3 race was another dramatic affair.
Lorenzo Della Porta wins after a thrilling five-way battle.
Marco Bezzecchi crashed out to hand the championship lead back to Jorge Martin.

Moto3 racing never fails to provide the best racing and it did not disappoint at San Marino, ultimately seeing Lorenzo Della Porta winning his maiden category victory.

The drama started when five riders came together in a horrific crash at the end of the very first lap which claimed Nicolo Bulega, Aaron Canet, Auyumu Sasaki, Jaume Masia and Enea Bastianini. Canet and Sasaki were sent to the mobile medical centre for check-ups, but thankfully all riders were okay.

The pile up also allowed the front five consisting of championship contenders Marco Bezzecchi, Jorge Martin besides Lorenzo Della Porta, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Gabriel Rodrigo to break away.

The five battled incessantly throughout the race with multiple lead changes which became fiercer and fiercer as the laps wound down. All riders were involved in one aggressive pass after another; all the while Bezzecchi and Martin were trying to contend with each other for the championship.

But everything changed when Bezzecchi’s rear tyre broke loose and the bike almost highsided him into the gravel trap with just two corners to go to start the last lap. It was the Italian rider’s third crash while leading the last lap this season, the other two being at Le Mans, France and Assen, The Netherlands. His crash had effectively handed the championship lead over to Jorge Martin.

However, it was not the end of drama. Fabio Di Giannantonio had overshot a corner with two laps to go and was relegated to the back of the group. He ended up riding like a man possessed to catch the group. As Della Porta led the last lap into the last turn, Di Giannantionio lunged up the inside. But it appeared that the former kept his throttle pinned through the corner. While this was happening, Martin snuck through on the left side of both riders. It was a three-way charge to the line!

The results took a while to appear. When it did, it was Della Porta who crossed the line in 1^st, by just 0.058s from Martin. Di Giannantionio lost out after his audacious move as he had to hold back on his throttle lest he ran wide and finished 3^rd.

Malaysian rider Adam Norrodin finished in 12^th.

Jorge Martin now leads the championship with 166 points from Marco Bezzecchi with 158 and Fabio Di Giannantonio with 138 points each.

Bikesrepublic

Latest News

Giovanni Castiglioni has announced that we will stop Romano Fenati’s contract with MV Agusta for the 2019 Moto2 Championship.

Fenati caused an uproar after squeezing Stefano Manzi’s front brake lever at the San Marino GP.

Fenati has been given a two-race ban but many are calling for his outright ban from motorcycle racing.

Aprilia owners in Malaysia had a great day at the Sepang International Circuit yesterday.

Didi Resources, the new custodians of the brand organized a track day as promised.

A great mix of Aprilia models took to the track.

PICTURE GALLERY

The very first Modclass Speedway track day session was held at the Sepang International Circuit.

Around 20 modern classic bike owners took their machines for some fun time around the track.

The Modclass Speedway was organised by Tiga Moto and supported by Moto Guzzi Malaysia.

Romano Fenati’s red mist moment in Moto2 at San Marino was captured on camera.

The fiery Italian had a run in with Stefano Manzi in the Moto2 race.

Fenati was DQ’d in the race but expect a heavy penalty soon.

Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso controlled the San Marino MotoGP race and won.

Pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo crashed out with 2 laps to go.

Marc Marquez finished 2nd to extend his championship lead.

The San Marino GP Moto3 race was another dramatic affair.

Lorenzo Della Porta wins after a thrilling five-way battle.

Marco Bezzecchi crashed out to hand the championship lead back to Jorge Martin.

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Marc Marquez finished 2^nd to extend his championship lead.