Alvaro Responds To Simoncelli “Penalty”

“It seems like they wipe the slate clean at the start of each season and the way they have punished him, you’d think he rode like a saint every week…
“It’s hard because the temptation is there to take your retribution on the track but I won’t do that. All I can say is that I won’t back down in Barcelona.”

WE SAY: A completely reasonable and understandably miffed reaction. Yet another meaningless slap on the wrists for SImoncelli basically leaves him thinking there’s nothing wrong with his conduct. Although his own total lack of self-awareness is clearly fuelling this view, with him (perhaps unwisely) slagging off the authorities for an ‘unfair’ warning and even going so far as to say that Bati lied and changed his story to Race Direction – something which will bring tears of laughter to anybody who saw Simoncelli admit to his fault in the post-race press conference and then change his story to say it was Alvaro’s fault later on.
In the end, we think it’s a pretty lame action against a rider who clearly needs something a little harsher and straightforward if he’s to get the message. (In slightly less polite terms, I think I’m just saying ‘Ban him, he’s a total cock’.)

I’d certainly rather it were handled in the cold light of day by the authorities than in a serious cloud of “red mist” on the track however. Though as long as Alvaro keeps his head and his nerve, I’d love him to ride as *hard* as he likes 🙂

Go Bati!