Marco Bezzecchi defends stance to race in Qatar after MotoGP rider letter
Marco Bezzecchi was one of three riders who did not sign a letter to MotoGP about racing in Qatar
Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi says he did not join 19 of his grid colleagues in signing a letter to MotoGP against racing in Qatar because he “always trusted” the organisers.
The Qatar Grand Prix is now underway despite intense discussions between riders and the championship in the days leading up to the event.
Security concerns about racing in the region amid threats of escalation in the Iran war led to 19 of the 22 riders signing a letter to MotoGP saying they would not race in Qatar unless the championship personally took responsibility for anything going wrong.
MotoGP didn’t budge from its position, however, and threatened sanctions on riders and teams who boycotted the race.
‘They’re not crazy enough to send us somewhere unsafe’
Yamaha did withdraw from the event based on a company travel policy regarding the Middle East, with retribution from the championship set to follow.
Of the 22 riders, it is now known that Bezzecchi, Ai Ogura and Johann Zarco did not sign the letter to the championship.
Bezzecchi decision was seen as being related to his fading championship hopes.
He admitted that racing in Qatar suits him better in this respect, but ultimately always believed the organisers held the riders’ best interests at heart.
“As I've always said, from the outside it might seem like I only did it for the title fight,” he told reporters on Friday in Qatar.
“It's true that, in the end, it suited me in that sense, but this issue had been raised a long time ago.
“If the organisers thought coming here was the right decision, I don't think they're crazy enough to send us somewhere without being sure.
“So I've always trusted them, and then, obviously, it became more of a necessity. But, in the end, I'm happy.”
US issues security alert to citizens in Middle East
On Friday evening in Doha, heightened military activity in Qatar and the wider region raised tensions over the US war with Iran resuming.
While there have been reports of US strikes in Iran overnight, there has been no wider escalation for the time being.
The US issued a security alert to its citizens in the Gulf to “exercise heightened vigilance” on Friday.
This follows reports from Qatari mediators that Iran and US talks to end the war broke down again on Friday.
