Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) (AFP)
French motorcycle rider Fabio Quartararo will not participate in the first 20 minutes of the first free practice session of the MotoGP of Spain on Friday, the first of the season, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) announced on Thursday.
He is accused of having taken part in private tests with a motorcycle which does not comply with the regulations.
The decision was announced on Wednesday, but the French driver and his team had appealed. It was therefore rejected.
During a hearing, the Yamaha-SRT team of the French pilot explained that it was they who had made the error and not the pilot but the panel considered that this was not sufficient reason to go back on their initial decision.
The regulations of the MotoGP championship authorize the pilots to take part in private tests during the season only on motorcycles modified to improve safety, in order to avoid these sessions being used to develop the MotoGP.
The race stewards estimated that during training on the Paul-Ricard du Castellet circuit in the south of France on June 18 and 19, Quartararo had used illegal equipment "without intending to".
The MotoGP World Championship is due to start on Friday in Jerez (Andalusia) several months late due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 1st free practice session is scheduled for Friday from 09.55 a.m. and the race for Sunday from 2.00 p.m.
© 2020 AFP