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Paolo Simoncelli didn’t mince words and isn’t afraid to say what he thinks. He did it again this time after the Jerez Grand Prix, against the Race Direction, which that unjustly penalized Riccardo Rossi, as we saw on TV.
Here’s his rant.
'"The decision has been made, and we can’t go back now.” These are the absurd words Riccardo Rossi heard from the Race Direction Sunday morning, half an hour before the race. That’s inconceivable for me. They’re unjustifiable. There are no words to describe them. Nowadays, even in soccer, we resort to the VAR to prevent human error, which can happen, so I don’t understand how bad it is to admit an error and retract what was done. I'm furious with them. This situation has to be put right. We’re not the only team complaining. And I hope that Jorge Viegas, president of the International Motorcycle Federation, will step up against this incompetence, and put an end to it.
This is how the communiqué could have ended. All my spontaneous anger enclosed in a few lines, but that would be unjust and unfair towards those who, on the contrary, made my weekend better.
As you might have seen on TV, or figured out by now, Rossi was warned without any real reason. 'He was swaying on the straight,' they said, even if, from the slow-motion footage, he wasn’t swaying.
He started seventh in the race, and that makes me crazy. He was warned of a long lap in the middle of the first lap. Really early! When everything was still in play. If that wasn’t a low blow … at the end of the second lap, he was almost at the back of the group. But he was great. He didn’t lose heart, on the contrary. Driven by pride, he attacked ... Unfortunately, when he was in eighth position, after a race full of risks, he slipped and ended up falling. I'm a bit conflicted. On the one hand, I'm out of my mind because of the Race Direction’s unfair behavior. On the other, I’m happy for Riki's good performance. He proved he was mature, he proved he was there.
Caught up in the euphoria of the last race, maybe Fellon was too psyched on Friday and fell, causing his shoulder to come out of its socket. He got caught up in the rush. He had all the time in the world. I dare say he didn't need it. He was later declared 'unfit' and couldn’t compete in the race. I don’t know what to say.
But let's move on to the first MotoE race of the year that, after six-month hiatus, it was held right here in Jerez. Zannoni is our new entry. It’s his first year racing with us. We still don’t know each other well yet. That’s why he didn’t qualify in Q1 by a whisker (less than a tenth). When you don't start from a good position on the grid, everything gets complicated. In race two, he took a huge risk because of a mistake he didn't make. The bike didn’t leave the starting box, as if he hadn’t heard the 'start', the starting whistle. He risked being run over by those behind him. Fortunately for everyone, he was quickly dodged and, with a good performance, he finished in 13th place.
A difficult weekend that leaves me with a mix of conflicting feelings. I want to be confident for Le Mans. I hope in Fellon's return and in a gutsy Rossi, who’ll have to aim for the front rows. As long as the Race Direction has no other surprise … extravagant objections to make."
