A professional motorcycle rider caused outrage when he grabbed an opponent’s brake lever at 140 mph.
The incredible scene was captured on video during the Misano Grand Prix in San Marino.
Italy’s Romano Fenati first received a black flag and two-race suspension for attempting to interfere with Stefano Manzi’s motorcycle during the race. Cal Crutchlow, who finished third, quickly called for the 22-year-old racer to receive a lifetime ban for his irresponsible behavior and dangerously poor sportsmanship.
“He should never compete on a motorcycle again,” said previous race-winner Crutchlow. “He should have walked back to the garage and his team should have just kicked him straight out the back.
“You can’t do this to another motorcycle racer. We are risking our lives enough.”
Fenati claims he was responding to Manzi’s bungled attempts to overtake him earlier in the race. He says Manzi struck him three times leaving a black mark on his leathers and helmet.
“Do you want to see my helmet and my leathers?” he asked (translated from Italian) in an interview with La Repubblica. “There is a long black strip, the Manzi rubber. He attacked me three times and he could have killed me too, as you say. The last time I had it done to me was 500m before (his incident), then I thought ‘now I do the same, I’ll show you that I can be bad’ and maybe you will finally understand what it means.”
“But I never thought to hurt him, I swear.”
Yesterday Fenati released a public apology for his actions, which he admitted were “disgraceful.”
“I apologise to the whole sports world. This morning, with a clear mind, I wish it had been just a bad dream,” Fenati said. “I think back to those moments, I made a disgraceful gesture, I was not a man.”
Fenati continued to say that he would be retiring from professional racing. “I’m finished with the motorcycle world, I will not run again. I was wrong, it’s true: I apologize to everyone.”
Watch the moment in the video below.