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Christina bulpett |
GlobalSBK
Image: GeeBee Images
Kawasaki’s Michele Fabrizio has opted out of Sunday’s WorldSSP action in Jerez due to the death of WorldSSP300 rider Dean Berta Viñales.
The 37-year-old Italian, however, has completely ended her motorcycle career in protest against FIM’s handling of this year’s tragic deaths – Berta Viñales being the third teenage girl to be killed at a FIM event in 2021.
In a scathing open letter on social media from Fabrizio, the former WorldSBK mainstay and four-time race winner did not hold back his thoughts on the world which saw him rack up 247 world championship starts.
“Tomorrow I will refuse to run out of respect for human life,†Fabrizio wrote on Saturday evening.
“And I am retiring. It is time to say enough. Today I witnessed a bad day, the loss of a runner of only 15 years old. Races like this I’ve seen a lot in this class, and every time we finished we could sigh in relief because it had gone well. But unfortunately it doesn’t always go well and today the unpredictable has happened or maybe what we knew would happen.
“I have been lying on my hotel bed for more than 5 hours staring at the ceiling, remembering the beautiful moments that this sport gave me.
“But coming back after 6 years, I saw this world change. I saw indifference on the part of the International Federation: deploying 42 children in the Yamaha Cup (luckily everything went well in 2021) and 42 others in World 300.
“Too many, too many runners with little or even very little experience, and this does not happen only in the world championship, but also in national championships, where to earn money you take everything, up to the last available place.
“Valentino Rossi years ago when Marquez entered MotoGP they were critical, saying he complained about Marquez’s ‘incorrect’ maneuvers. He must be right. Marc has become a benchmark: these young people imitate his exploits, overtaking too many times, leaning on their opponent, risking every inch.
“Let us add that I am withdrawing from the world of racing to send a strong protest message! So that the rules change to save human lives. The problem is in Moto3, the Talent Cup and the National Championships! In addition to that, we must also review the tracks which must offer better escape spaces!
“See the fall of Valentino, who almost died from a bad lead. See the Red Bull Ring, where riders fall and stay in the middle of the line! All this depends on the FIM which does not play a role of guard against life but simply prefers business! It is time for the politics of each nation to intervene!
“The first to send a strong message was Ayrton Senna, who said some leads were dangerous, and it wasn’t until after his death that there was an intervention. To date, there are fewer deaths in Formula 1, but lately there has been a massacre on motorcycles!
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