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10th Sep 2018

Moto2 driver who pulled opponent’s brake at 140mph is sacked by his team

Wil Jones

Moto2 rider Romano Fenati made the sport go viral this weekend – for all the wrong reasons

Romano Fenati – who has a bit of a reputation as a wildcard – was disqualified from a race at Misano, Italy for “irresponsible driving” after he reached across to a rival’s bike and pulled the brake lever – whilst driving at around 140mph.

In the shocking footage of the incident, you can see Fenati pull up alongside Stefano Manzi, before reaching across and tugging on the brake of the other racer.

It momentarily causes Manzi to wobble but fortunately, he manages to stay in control on the bike.

Unsurprisingly, the crazy act hasn’t done wonders for Fenati’s career – the Italian has now been sacked by his team, the Marinelli Snipers.

He had already been given a two-race suspension (which to be honest, seems pretty weak for such blatant cheating).

“We can communicate that the Marinelli Snipers Team shall terminate the contract with the rider Romano Fenati, from now on, for his unsporting, dangerous and damaging conduct for the image of all,” the team said in a statement. “With extreme regret, we have to note that his irresponsible act endangered the life of another rider and can’t be apologised for in any way. The rider, from this moment, will not participate in any more races with the Marinelli Snipers team.

“The team, Marinelli Cucine, Rivacold and all the other sponsors and the people that always supported him, apologised to all the World Championship fans.”

Italian bike manufacturer MV Augusta has also terminated his contract, with company president Giovanni Castiglioni calling it “the worst and saddest thing I have ever seen in a bike race.”

Romano Fenati has had a bit of a history of losing his cool – as you can see in the video below, in which he repeatedly tries to punch and kick fellow driver Niklas Ajo during a warm-up for a race in Argentina.