Garzo disqualified from MotoE Valencia Race 1, out of title fight

Hector Garzo has been disqualified from the MotoE Valencia Race 1 results, losing his second place finish, meaning he is out of title contention ahead of the final race.

The Tech 3 E-Racing rider won a final-lap fight against Bradley Smith to claim second place behind winner Eric Granado but following the post-race technical scrutiny Garzo’s Energica bike was found to be running tyre pressures lower than the parameters allowed by the official tyre supplier Michelin.

With Nicolas Terol falling foul of the same rule infringement during qualifying, and was duly excluded from the results, the same fate has hit Garzo which has seen him disqualified from the opening race results in Valencia.

The decision sees Garzo mathematically drop out of the MotoE title race and sets up a straight fight between Smith and championship leader Matteo Ferrari.

With Garzo excluded from the opening race results, Smith has been promoted to second place with Ferrari moving on to the podium in third place.

Ferrari will take a 20-point lead over Smith into the season finale at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, while Xavier Simeon has moved up to third place in the standings 30 points behind Ferrari.

Garzo and his Tech 3 E-Racing team has the right to appeal the decision but given the clear-cut nature of the penalty it seems unlikely the Spanish rider will pursue the penalty.

The 2019 MotoE season finale gets underway at 1530 local time in Valencia with Smith starting from third place and Ferrari in the middle of the second row in fifth place.