Sky VR46: We have rules, Fenati didn't follow them

In an almost unprecedented move for a rider and team fighting for a world championship, the Sky VR46 Moto3 squad sensationally suspended Romano Fenati from the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday evening because the Italian's behaviour "was not right."

Team boss Pablo Nieto was one of the team members responsible for the decision and told Crash.net on Sunday morning that this was not the result of one single incident, but rather his conduct over the course of the year. According to Nieto, Fenati had received two warnings for his behaviour prior to this weekend.

It is believed Fenati's conduct has been a concern for the team since the first race in Qatar, with his attitude, concentration and focus all in need of improvement.

With two less experienced riders - Andrea Migno and rookie sensation Niccolo Bulega - sharing Fenati's garage, the VR46 squad felt it necessary to show a certain kind of conduct would not be accepted within their garage over the course of a race weekend.

Nieto and the team were keen to stress that the incident had nothing to do with Fenati's relationship with his team-mates, but rather the technicians that were working around him. A committee, made up of VR46 team members, came to the conclusion this was a suitable decision to take on Saturday evening.

KTM and Valentino Rossi were aware of the situation and accepted the actions of the team whose riders sit third, fifth and 15th in the Moto3 world championship.

Understandably, Fenati was not pleased with the outcome and was asked to stay away from the Red Bull Ring facility in Spielberg on Sunday. The move not only casts a shadow of uncertainty over his immediate future, but his plans for 2017 as well.

The 20-year old was set to step up to the Moto2 world championship with the Italian squad. A decision on 2017 and indeed his immediate future will be made in the coming days.

Read the exclusive exchange between Crash.net and Pablo Nieto below.

Crash.net:
It must be a difficult situation for the team. How did it come to this?

Pablo Nieto:
Bad news. It's bad news and difficult for the team not to take the rider in the race. Anyway, we make this decision. It was an important decision because we have rules inside the team. We think that he didn't follow these rules. That was the point.

Crash.net:
Was there a particular incident this weekend that forced you to make this decision?

Pablo Nieto:
The thing that we want to make clear is that there was no problem with another rider. This is really, really important. He has a good relationship with [Niccolo] Bulega and [Andrea] Migno and it was a decision that we make because his behaviour was not right.

Crash.net:
It's a severe measure to take considering Romano's position in the championship.

Pablo Nieto:
Yeah, that's the bad thing because we are fighting in the championship. We are third in the championship but like I told you we have these rules. We are a professional team and we have to make them. If we don't follow these rules everything is going to be crazy.

Crash.net:
As you have two younger riders in Romano's team, is it even more important to set an example to show a certain type of behaviour cannot be tolerated?

Pablo Nieto:
We didn't do this to make an example. We didn't do this to warn the other riders, to say, 'If you do this then you'll be going home.' It was not like this. The riders know they have to be really, really professional and that this is a job. They are really lucky, this job is incredible and there are a lot of young riders that want to be here in the world championship. They are really lucky to be here. I think every rider knows that they have to be professional.

Crash.net:
I'm guessing this wasn't the first incident with Romano?

Pablo Nieto:
No. That's why. The rules we have inside of the team, first of all we give one warning. Second, we give another warning. Then the third one was the problem.

Crash.net:
Who took the decision? Was it the team? Did you confer with Valentino Rossi or KTM?

Pablo Nieto:
Valentino has a lot of work to do. He has the race today. Of course he knows everything but we have to keep this problem out of his way. He has to try to fight to win the championship and has a lot of things to do. We [the Sky VR46 team] have like a committee and we decided to make it. Anyway, KTM know but we made the decision by ourselves.

Crash.net:
What does the future hold for Romano? Is there a possibility he could return to the team or is the relationship over?

Pablo Nieto:
At the moment it [the suspension] is for this race. It's true that the relationship is not very good. It's normal. But we have to make the decision. In the next couple of days we will know more about that. We will send out a press release and you will know.

Crash.net:
It's clear that Romano is a rider that possesses a crazy level of natural talent but perhaps doesn't have the requisite concentration or focus. How frustrating is that to watch?

Pablo Nieto:
I think he has a very big talent, maybe the best talent I've ever seen in Moto3. It's bad. It's bad news to arrive to this moment. Anyway, we have to make a point and try and think about the future.

Crash.net:
Is this one of the most difficult decisions you've had to make in racing?

Pablo Nieto:
Yes. It's one of the biggest ones because also I have a good relationship with him. I'm personally I'm a little bit sad about this. Like I told you, we have some rules that he has to follow and he didn't.

Crash.net:
How was the atmosphere in the garage this morning?

Pablo Nieto:
Yeah, it's strange. When you see one bike inside the garage [with no rider] it's not nice. Also for the mechanics and the team, they are working really, really hard and then they don't race. It's sad and hard.

Crash.net:
Sky VR46 has a plan in place to move to Moto2 in 2017 with Romano as the rider. Does this affect those plans?

Pablo Nieto:
Maybe something is going to change but it's so early. It's too early to tell you what is going on in the future. In the next couple of days we'll see what's happening in the future, we will decide and as soon as possible we'll let you know.

Crash.net:
Is there a possibility that you could run two bikes in Moto2 next year?

Pablo Nieto:
It could be. At the moment our plan is only one bike. If we decided to use two bikes we will let you know but at the moment there is only going to be one bike.