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It has been a turbulent few days for Bo Bendsneyder and the Preicanos Racing Team in the run-up to last weekend's San Marino and Riviera di Rimini GP. A race that sanctioned the sudden end of relations between the Dutch rider and the team led by Raul Castaneda, who in recent hours has made official the early termination of their association through a statement. With which the team wanted to reconstruct the affair and clarify how it was the words spoken by Bendsneyder on the starting grid that led to the termination of his contract.
"After six years of collaboration with driver Bo Bendsneyder, his position in the standings has not improved despite his great experience. The team had initially decided to terminate the contractual relationship at the end of the season. With the unexpected change in his recent media appearances and without having provided official communication to the team about his intentions, the decision was made to terminate the relationship between the team and the driver. This decision comes after the breach of several key points of his contract, including confidentiality clauses, respect for his teammates and technical staff, and underperformance of what had been agreed over the course of the season," the statement read.
"Raul Castaneda has proposed to Bo Bendsneyder to trust him and leave his future in his hands, to help him become a MotoGP rider, as in the Moto2 category he has failed to emerge after several years of trying, without achieving better results than a third place. The rider's height and weight have affected his performance in a category characterised by the small size of the bikes," the team emphasises. "Raul Castaneda, as he has told him on several occasions, was determined to work with him, to support him and help him progress. However, Bo chose not to trust the potential of Raul Castaneda, whose success is recognised not only for having led one of Spain's most prestigious law firms, Preico Jurídicos, but also for his altruism and remarkable ability to assist the thousands of people who have sought his help. Raul and Eduardo regret Bo's decision and, although the pilot left without saying goodbye, they do not blame him".
Rescinding Bensdneyder's contract was therefore the only possible decision for the Preicanos Racing team in light of the statements made by the driver on the Misano grid and his performance over the course of the season.
"Throughout his career with us, Bendsneyder has shown considerable talent, but his sporting results have not met the team's expectations. Furthermore, his inappropriate behaviour towards the coaching staff on several occasions at the beginning of this season, together with the leaking of confidential information, has caused untenable tensions within the team. The team carefully assessed the situation and, although we always intended to give him another chance, circumstances have led us to terminate his contract," the team added. "We thank Bo for his commitment and dedication over the years and wish him all the best in his future sporting endeavours. Perhaps he was judged more for what he did not do than for what he did do".
Having then confirmed the continuation of the relationship with Jaume Masia, the team led by Raul Castaneda and Eduardo Perales has made it known that they are looking for a rider to replace Bendsneyder until the end of the season (who could most likely be Dani Munoz) and are actively working to prepare its line-up for 2025.
"These decisions have not been easy, but we believe they are necessary to ensure the team's stability and performance in the long term," commented Perales and Castaneda on the sidelines. "We are grateful for the support of our sponsors, partners, and fans during this period of transition, and we trust that we will soon reach the strength needed to continue competing at the highest level in the Moto2 World Championship."
Bendsneyder's version
On his side, Bendsneyder also wanted to shed light on the affair, publishing a long post on his social channels in the aftermath of the Misano race. He went through all the steps that led him to end his Moto2 adventure, after the team had decided to replace him with Dani Munoz once he had overcome the injury suffered in April in Andalusia.
"I was already about to leave Moto2 at the end of 2020, until Eduardo Perales called me. He showed a lot of interest and confidence in me. I signed a contract with the Stop and Go Racing team and I am still very grateful to him for that. We were together for more than three years, during which many things happened behind the scenes. For three years we had many ups and downs. Last April I crashed at Jerez and had to skip several races. I missed three, but not all three because of the injury. The team decided to field another rider. To my surprise, they also took the team away from me and I had to learn about it through the media. At that moment I even doubted that they would allow me to return. That was a big blow," Bo said.
"Shortly before Assen I received a phone call again: the team had a new owner. This gave me hope and I saw it as a new opportunity. The Preicanos Racing Team expressed their confidence and made me the necessary promises. Unfortunately this turned out to be too good to be true and Misano (as far as is clear now) seems to have been my last race in Moto2," he continued, "I would like to thank everyone who has supported me over the years. Especially Hans van der Oever, Rick and Jose van Dongen, thank you for your trust in me! It's time for new adventures!".
Automatic Translation by DeepL
