A bizarre and special incident on Saturday afternoon during the Moto3 qualifying of the Gran Premio Animoca Brands de Aragón. Two Max Racing team mechanics attempted to stop Red Bull KTM Tech3 driver Adrián Fernández while exiting the pits in Q2. The mood then ran high, resulting in a penalty for the Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max Team.
A completely incomprehensibly heated incident occurred on Saturday afternoon during Moto3 qualifying in Aragon. Two Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max Team mechanics casually and deliberately stepped in front of Adrian Fernandez’s machine as they exited the adjacent Red Bull KTM Tech3 pit box, presumably to prevent the Spaniard intending to kill Ayumu, who had just been sent out by the mechanics in question. Sasaki (see the video images in the twitter message below).
This is what happened in #Moto3 Q2 today. @31AdriFernandez was denied to leave in the good group for the QP time, by another team. Unacceptable. @MotoGP @Max_Racing_Team ????????#AragonGP pic.twitter.com/BgfRAMfu2S
— Tech3 Racing (@Tech3Racing) September 17, 2022
Tech3 Racing Moto3 team owner and IRTA President Hervé Poncharal then complained about the incident to Race Director Mike Webb, who said the incident had been observed and would be referred to the MotoGP Stewards Panel. It soon became clear that there would be no penalty for the drivers concerned, as you cannot penalize the driver for the actions of the mechanics.
Despite the fact that the Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max Team publicly apologized not much later and made it known that it would punish the relevant mechanics appropriately, the incident still had an annoying tail for the team. Shortly after 19:00 Dorna came with an official message that the Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max Team has been penalized for the incident.
Unacceptable behavior!
We publicly apologize to the Tech3 Racing Team and Adriàn Fernàndez.
An unsolicited, dangerous action that cannot be justified in any way by our code of ethics!
Those responsible will be appropriately punished. https://t.co/PXcKdg80Rb— Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max Racing (@Max_Racing_Team) September 17, 2022
Both team members were fined 2000 euros and are each banned from participating in the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix AND the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia. It will not be possible to replace the team members in question for the next two races due to immigration and travel restrictions for the upcoming rounds, potentially posing a safety risk to their rider. This two-race ban has therefore been postponed until the Australian and Malaysian Grand Prix.
Official document: GP15_ARA_22_Sterilgarda_Husqvarna_Max_M3_Team_Members_1_
Remarkable detail: Adrián Fernandez rode alongside Romano Fenati in 2021 in the Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max Team. It is common knowledge that the Spaniard did not make any friends there at the time, but this is of course no excuse for such an action.
Handige links Grand Prix Animoca Brands of Aragon:
Timetable and full results
Where to follow on TV
Photo report
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