Ayumu Sasaki was out of the fight for the Moto3 World Championship title at the Qatar GP, where Jaume Masiá (Leopard Racing/Honda) was crowned champion. The decision had some controversy, due to the excessive aggressiveness of the Spaniard in some direct duels, as well as the interference of his teammate Adrián Fernández in a way that seemed punishable due to the maneuvers in question.
Peter Öttl, owner of Sasaki’s team, Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP, expressed disappointment with what happened in Losail, stating to the site SPEEDWEEK.com: ‘It was always my goal to fight for the world title with Sasaki and Husqvarna until the end in Valencia. That was what we wanted to achieve in Qatar. I am sad about the way this project was taken from us in Doha and the way the title was decided on Sunday. It is sad that the fight for the title was taken from us in this way‘.
In the opinion of the leader, there were legitimate chances to extend the fight until the end of the season: ‘I am convinced that if the race had been clean, we would still have a realistic chance of fighting for the world title in Valencia. When a decision like this happens in the last race, where you really have to fight for everything and give everything, it is absolutely acceptable. but I think the way it happened in Qatar is unacceptable. Yes, that’s my opinion‘.
In the Qatar GP, the stewards did not consider it necessary to penalize Masiá and Fernández, which drew criticism from Öttl: ‘It must be said that race control or the stewards failed completely. When you think about how Sasaki was penalized for a small thing in Argentina in 2022, which ended up costing him a top result in the championship, and when you see what Masiá did in Qatar, where only a warning was issued for the second incident, then you lose all confidence in race direction. The way his teammate, Adrián Fernández, intervened, was anything but clean. Before the Qatar GP, I sent several emails to race direction to point out that Fernández’s behavior was totally unacceptable and that in the end he was only there to disturb Sasaki during practice and chase him. But despite my numerous requests, they did nothing before the Qatar GP. And then they completely failed in Losail during the race‘.
