VOLUME ISSUE NOVEMBER , P45
During the Malaysian GP, the
racers settled on five demands
for Ezpeleta to meet. Protection
and insurance for all in atten-
dance were requested. And it's
believed the riders wanted the
championship, rather than the
Qatari government, to assume li-
ability for anything that happens
on Qatari soil.
"Do you believe it's that safe we
should be there?" asked Miller.
"[Then] put your name on it."
This wasn't agreed come Sun-
day afternoon.
"We received almost every-
thing we asked for," said Pecco
Bagnaia. "There are some things
pending that we will never re-
ceive. But it is what it is."
Miller wasn't satisfied. "I don't
want to go. Nobody wants to go,"
he said.
Marc Marquez is another
deeply unimpressed by the situ-
ation.
Despite the general unhappi-
ness, few saw Yamaha's an-
nouncement coming. The Japa-
nese factory confirmed it would
not allow its MotoGP teams or
riders to travel to Qatar.
"Following its latest assess-
ment of the situation in the
Middle East, Yamaha has not
identified sufficient grounds to
change its existing company-
wide travel restrictions," read
a Yamaha Motor Corporation
statement. Cycle News under-
stands title sponsor Monster En-
ergy was fully supportive of the
decision. Pramac's Moto2 team
will go, however, as Izan Guevara
is fighting for the title.
The four other manufactur-
ers didn't follow Yamaha's lead.
Ducati, Aprilia, KTM and Honda
all confirmed their teams will
travel to Qatar this week. But
there remains a doubt about who
will be riding. At best, the grid
that lines up on Sunday will be
shallow compared to Sepang.
It begs the question: How
has it come to this? The series
has been aware of the Middle
East situation since the U.S. first
launched attacks on Iran in Feb-
ruary. While Qatar is a significant
partner, it is hard to understand
how such doubt hangs over the
event just four days before it's
due to start. MotoGP's reputa-
tion is at stake.
Neil Morrison
Most MotoGP
riders aren't thrilled
about competing
the upcoming
weekend in Qatar.
