MXoN fuel tests: Michele Cervellin's team explains what happened at RedBud
By Adam Wheeler on 31st Jan 19
The team behind Michele Cervellin's motorcycle has stepped up, taken the heat and offered an explanation as to what caused this MXoN fuel test mess.
The team that Cervellin rides for, SM Action Yamaha, has responded to the revelation from the FIM that the fuel in Cervellin's motorcycle was non-conforming at RedBud, USA and that the entire Team Italy squad would be disqualified.
In what must have been some difficult hours since they were informed of the Motocross of Nations fuel test results they have put out a statement that lays the blame on "naivety" and has offered an apology to both the Italian Motocross of Nations team and the passionate Italian fans.
Reading the statement via an online translation which you can read below it appears to us that they were let down by a local supplier and some could argue they should never have put their trust in that and shipped instead a tried and tested fuel from Italy. Of course, that shipping comes at a premium when it's an overseas event.
We would imagine that the Italian federation will investigate to see how this can be avoided at future MXoN events, although this is likely not going to be an issue this year with the event being held in Assen.
The SM Action Yamaha statement loosely translates to:
"The International Motorcycle Federation has made known the results of the against analysis carried out on the sample of petrol taken during the last edition of the Motocross of Nations.
"In the control performed at Michele Cervellin, on chemical components that make up the "one single" Fuel, it has result beyond the allowed limit.
"The SM Action Yamaha team of practice uses commercial petrol and the checks carried out during the 2018 world trials, have always been widely regulated.
"On the occasion of the American trip it was decided not to bring fuel from Italy, but to use the local one. Unfortunately, this choice has not proved correct and this naivety has led us to the disqualification of our pilot and to the cancellation of the excellent result obtained by the Italian National.
"The SM Action Yamaha team is, first of all, a united and cohesive group where everyone puts their commitment in achieving the best possible results. Every Sunday of race we put in place our best professionalism and especially the passion we have for this sport.
"In the light of what emerged, we have to apologise to all the Italian team and to everyone who rejoiced for the result obtained.
Our goal for 2019 will be to engage as always we have done and give Italian fans excellent results."
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