Monza circuit being investigated following World Superbike debacle

Published on 14 Jun 2012 by Toni M.

> monza wsbk 2012

Infront Motor Sports and the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza may have decided to allow free Paddock admission for Sunday in the 2013 Monza event to all those who present a coupon valid for Sunday or a three-day admission ticket of the 2012 Superbike race following the debacle of the Monza round, but the situation regarding that controversial round are very far from over, as Italian public prosecutors are now poking their noses into what happened that weekend.

Everyone more or less remembers round four, instead of celebrating World Superbikes 25th Anniversary, the enitre event came under attack starting from Pirelli’s supposedly ’shoddy’ rain tires mainly getting the blame and under attack by the riders. Race 1 was halted when a few drops of rain began falling and riders began crashing out at the Parabolica. The race was red flagged and then finally cancelled for safety reasons. Race 2 was delayed as group of riders decided that the track conditions were still unsafe in serveral corners, but the race started and shortened to 16 laps and then truncated to 8 as the rain began falling again.

Well, Public prosecuters Caterina Trentini and Walter Mapelli believe believe that bad conditions of the asphalt of the legendary circuit and not the weather conditions endangered the lives of the riders and have started investigation with the hypothesis that there was willful failure by the promotors in taking precautions on protecting the riders, with track technician Stephen Tremolada already questioned who immediately exercised his right to remain silent.

The Guardia di Finanza have visited and checked out the circuit and Marco Melandri who was one of the several riders (including John Hopkins who injured his hip and broke his foot and David Salom fractured his shoulder) who crashed out during race 1, has also been questioned and supposedly said, “I do not know why I fell, it was not raining at that moment.”

This investigation is part of a larger one that the prosecutors are handling at the moment regarding accusations by Paolo Guaitamacchi, President of Sias spa, the company that runs the circuit which is wholly owned the Automobile Club of Milano, regarding an allegedly a ‘personalistic management’ of the track in regards to excessive spending and suppliers.

Source | corriere.it