Sunday was a 'race day' at Sepang - and not just for the bikes. Meetings followed one another in the paddock of the Malaysian circuit throughout the day.
At 11am, the team managers of the different teams met with the executives of MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group (MGPSEG). The teams then also held discussions among themselves to try to find out what each one's position was. The riders, for their part, had set 4pm as the deadline for MGPSEG to agree to assume all responsibility in the event of a possible escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.
This condition they had set for proactively agreeing to travel to Qatar was not met, although only Jack Miller dared to openly criticise the championship's decision to force them to travel to an area exposed to the armed conflict that the front formed by the United States and Israel has been waging against Iran since last February.
Miller's statement was followed quickly by a statement from Yamaha, in which it announced its decision to skip the Qatar Grand Prix, having not received "sufficient grounds" to meet its internal policy, which allows it to prevent sending employees to war zone.
The announcement caused considerable upset within the MotoGP organisation, which hours earlier had sent a letter to all the teams, once again stressing that it had found no sufficiently relevant reason why the event could not be held with the necessary safety guarantees and coverage, all under the umbrella of the Qatari government.
The note, signed by Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MGPSEG, also pointed out that the pool of money the Arab country offers to supplement the championship's existing insurance policies is considerably larger than that of any other race of the season. Ezpeleta also emphasised the teams' and riders' commitment to fulfilling their contractual obligations, with a final warning: "MotoGP Group expects all stakeholders, including teams and riders, to fully comply with their contractual and regulatory obligations, and to act in good faith. Any failure to participate could negatively affect the championship, MotoGP Group, the FIM, the promoter, broadcasters, sponsors, commercial partners, spectators and other MotoGP stakeholders".
Freight is arriving
Photo by: MotoGP
Late on Sunday night, one of the most widespread questions revolved around the nature of the penalty Yamaha may have to face. The Iwata-based company is one of the pillars of the championship, but, at the same time, the breach is serious in the promoter's eyes, which will surely want to set a precedent to ensure that this case is not repeated.
The riders have been warned. The possibility of receiving financial and sporting sanctions hangs over them if they decide not to show up. However, five of the 22 full-time riders could join the four absences already confirmed by Yamaha, and several of them would have justified reasons for their absence. Apart from Alex Marquez, who has already announced that he will not race in Qatar in order to undergo surgery on his right shoulder, those who could stay behind without facing punishment are Jorge Martin and Raul Fernandez, after both withdrew from Sepang due to injuries.
The Aprilia rider's case is particularly relevant considering that his non-participation in Qatar would practically hand the title to Marc Marquez, who has a 44-point advantage over him at the top of the overall standings. In Fernandez's case, racing at Lusail would hinder the recovery of the fractures he sustained on his right hand.
Meanwhile, Joan Mir returned to action in Malaysia but had to retire before the halfway point of the main race when the vision problems and dizziness that had forced him to miss the previous four rounds returned. He is planning to visit doctors in Spain to undergo checks, with his current circumstances unlikely to allow him to race this weekend. Then there is Fermin Aldeguer, who has already missed the last two rounds as a result of the fracture to his right hand that he sustained in Indonesia, and who can also argue that he has not yet recovered.
With much of the paddock admiring the integrity and courage shown by Yamaha, uncertainty over how things may develop in the coming hours, especially once the midterm elections in the United States have been held this Tuesday, is considerable.
Those who have been able to do so have changed their flight plans in order to arrive in Doha as late as possible. Several riders have already announced their intention to turn up on Thursday afternoon, which has forced the organisation to delay the start of the official press conference by four hours, until eight in the evening. Honda, for example, has changed the travel itineraries of its Japanese engineers, who were initially travelling directly from Malaysia to Qatar, but a last-minute change will see them stop in Japan first.
In any case, it remains to be seen how the teams will manage on the ground, especially those that gave their employees the option of not travelling. Some have been able to reorganise their workforce and cover the absences through rotations, but others have not. The latter will distribute the absent employees' workload among those who have agreed to be present at the grand prix.
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- The Autosport.com Team
Source: Autosport