Aprilia boss critical of MotoGP rivals over Qatar kickback

Massimo Rivola thinks there is no decision to be made about the Qatar MotoGP, insisting “you have to go” if organisers say it’s safe.

Aprilia’s two factory riders, Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, remain in mathematical title contention with three rounds to go, although Marc Marquez has a chance to clinch his 10th world championship at Qatar should the race go ahead, which it currently is scheduled to do.

But Bezzecchi is over 60 points behind now and Martin 44, and the latter has a broken wrist to boot.

For Aprilia Racing CEO Rivola, though, there is no decision to be made about going to Qatar – if MotoGP says it’s safe, which is the position the championship has maintained and insisted upon in recent weeks, then the competitors must go.

“If they [organisers] say let's go, let's go,” Rivola told the Spanish publication AS about the Qatar situation on Sunday at Phillip Island, where the race was cancelled for bad weather.

“If the organizer says it's safe, you have to go, there's not so much discussion. 

“Honestly, I don't understand all this mess that's going on.”

Rivola added: “I want to go. If you don't want to do this job, you stay at home. You journalists, I am a manager, the engineers, everyone. 

“If the organizer, with all the information and documentation, says 'let's go', then let's go and that's it.”

Since Phillip Island, the Malaysian Grand Prix saw Yamaha abandon the Qatar race. MotoGP issued a statement after Yamaha’s announcement saying that the Iwata factory could receive sporting sanctions for its choice. 

There has been no communication from the governing body, the FIM, regarding Qatar or regarding sporting sanctions for riders and teams who skip the race.