The MotoGP team association, IRTA, decided this Tuesday to suspend a member of the Avintia team for falsifying a PCR test to access the Misano circuit paddock on Monday, as reported by Motorsport.com.
The suspension for the member of the Spanish team was initially set until the end of the season, however the Ducati satellite line-up has been inflexible in the face of such a situation and has decided to fire the offender, allegedly a mechanic from the MotoGP team.
“From Avintia Esponsorama Racing we show our total agreement with all the measures taken by Dorna and Irta which, like our team policy and code of conduct to which all its members adhere, whether they are mechanics, technicians, family members, sponsors , or any other person close to the team; We are obliged to take specific disciplinary measures and cease all relations with our team member, who yesterday, thanks to the great work that Dorna is doing, unsuccessfully falsified a PCR test in order to have access to the ‘ paddock’ of the Misano circuit for the celebration of the next Grand Prix”, communicate those responsible for the team by means of a note.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dorna has introduced a strict protocol that includes the obligation to present a negative PCR test before accessing any circuit, which multiplied by the number of events held, the number of members of each equipment and the price of the tests, throws exorbitant economic amounts.
Avintia wants to make it clear in its statement that it is the team that is responsible for the economic cost of the PCR tests that all team members have to undergo to access the paddock.
“Since the team is indirectly responsible for assuming all the costs derived from the exceptional measures by the COVID-19 protocols to all its components, with this type of action we are aware that they wanted to obtain their own benefit by putting the rest of the group at risk. of people who make up the team and the championship”, they say in the note, in which they end by apologizing for what happened and showing “all our gratitude to Dorna and IRTA for the efforts made to keep all the members of the MotoGP paddock safe , thus allowing an adequate development of the championship”.
