New FIM president Jorge Viegas found himself rapidly selecting reverse gear today, after being firmly put in his place by Dorna.
Viegas, the highly visible successor to popular Vito Ippolito, had given an interview broadcast in Poland on Friday, stating that he did not believe it was correct that Dorna should be in charge of both MotoGP and World Superbikes.
The observation makes perfect sense, but was also completely out of order. Dorna has a contract with the FIM giving them this entitlement, and when they took over the production-based series in 2013 the Monopolies Commission approved the deal.
On Saturday, the FIM issued a statement, saying that Viegas “wants to clarify the FIM’s position regarding the FIM Superbike World Championship.
“He recalls that the FIM and Dorna Sports have signed a long-term contract for the promotion of WorldSBK in 2016.
“He adds that the FIM is fully satisfied with the work of Dorna Sport and specifies that they will continue their efforts to move forward together regarding the improvement of the championship in the future.”
One suspects that the legal departments of the partners approve of every word.
By Michael Scott
Photos GnG
MARQUEZ, PETRUCCI AND MILLER ON THE FRONT ROW AT LE MANS
MARQUEZ MATCHES ROSSI IN NUMBER OF POLES