MotoGP riders accept Qatar race will go ahead despite safety fears
MotoGP riders are resigned to racing in Qatar next weekend despite objections from more than three quarters of the grid. The event was pushed back nearly six months by instability in the region, and the riders still lack the safety guarantees they asked for.
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A detentora dos direitos comerciais da MotoGP, a MotoGP Sports Entertainment Group, pretende realizar o GP do Catar no próximo fim de semana, apesar da objeção de mais de três quartos do grid.
Marcado originalmente para o início do ano, o evento foi adiado por quase seis meses pela instabilidade na região, que começou em fevereiro e segue sem solução. Há semanas os pilotos buscam garantias sobre a própria segurança e sobre como o paddock seria protegido se a situação se deteriorasse durante a presença deles no local.
Pilotos e a maioria dos chefes de equipe se reuniram em Sepang na quarta-feira; na quinta-feira, foi o CEO da promotora, Carmelo Ezpeleta, quem os recebeu e reiterou sua posição. Os presentes saíram com a impressão de que o evento acontecerá independentemente de pilotos individualmente decidirem não ir, e Ezpeleta lembrou que os contratos os vinculam às equipes, que arcariam com eventuais penalidades.
Na visão da promotora, garantias por escrito não são algo que ela possa dar: essa responsabilidade é do Estado catariano. Doha protocolou um documento prometendo resposta em emergência, mas os pilotos querem algo mais específico. O vice-CEO Carlos Ezpeleta é esperado na Malásia em poucas horas para detalhar o que o país está oferecendo.
Dentro do paddock, a maioria do pessoal resiste a viajar, e Yamaha e Honda planejam enviar o mínimo de funcionários possível. Vários detentores de direitos de transmissão já avisaram que não mandarão ninguém a Lusail.
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