Have you ever wondered how to destroy a career you’ve dedicated your whole life to building in a matter of a few seconds of hot-headed rage? Moto2 rider Romano Fenati is here to show you how.
Fenati and rival Stefano Manzi had been spending quite some time duking it out at Misano, fighting for twelfth place. After making contact, both riders ran off track and ended up losing enough positions to drop them out of the points.
Tensions are understandably high, and if there’s one thing that can really get your blood boiling, it’s feeling like someone else’s stupid move just cost you a good finishing position. But many drivers wait until after the race to air their grievances. Fenati decided to take matters into his own hands on the track.
Despite running off the track, the two riders had stuck together and kept battling. On the back straight, Fenati slipped up next to Manzi and reached over to press Manzi’s brake lever.
Yeah. That is most definitely a very shitty move.
Manzi was thrown off balance, regained control of his bike, and then ended up crashing at Turn 10. Fenati was immediately black-flagged. According to Autosport, Fenati has also been disqualified from the race.
In addition to that, Fenati has been handed the whopping punishment of... a two-race penalty.
For those of you following MotoGP, you probably know the name ‘Romano Fenati’, and probably not for particularly savory reasons. His temper has seen him kicking out at fellow riders in Moto3, as well as getting dropped by Valentino Rossi’s Sky VR46 program for bad behavior.
A race disqualification and penalty seem like a pretty simple slap on the wrist for a move that could have easily put a competitor in danger, but I have a feeling this isn’t the last we’ll be seeing of Fenati’s punishment. Even the media pundits and drivers were calling for his team to drop him completely. With a record of mishaps like Fenati has acquired, it’s hard to see him sticking around for much longer.
Update: Monday, Sept. 10 at 10:50 a.m. ET: Fenati is out at his current race team, and probably ruined his Moto2 deal for next year, too. More on this here.