P142
CN
III IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
F
or a while there, it felt like I
was the only person in the
world who felt a shred of
sympathy for Romano Fenati.
It seemed that everybody
else immediately engaged full
tilt in an orgy of vilification of the
utmost severity.
Just because of his ability not
to make a fool of himself desert-
ed him for a moment.
Again.
Grabbing Manzi's front brake
at Misano wasn't really very
clever, especially while being
filmed in great detail.
Analyzing it, Race Direction
thought it worth a two-race ban.
This response, it rapidly
became clear, was considered
excessively lenient by the wider
world. This was later confirmed
when the FIM expanded it to a
six-race ban.
But in the week after the
brake-grab, the condemna-
tion of the 22-year-old echoed
internationally, from respectable
newspapers all the way to the
death threats of twitterdom. And
resounded with pretty much
everyone I spoke to.
Yes, what he did was appall-
ing. But did it really merit the
death sentence?
By then, his team had sacked
him, a little belatedly; his next-
year's employers Forward
Racing likewise; the Italian
JUMPING ON THE
HOLIER-THAN-THOU BANDWAGON
