Haga fails in appeal case.

On Friday afternoon the FIM released a statement saying that after careful consideration, Yamaha's appeal against Noriyuki Haga's one month ban and deduction of his South Africa points, had failed.

The statement was just a brief outline of the results of the hearing and a full account of events will be released in a short time. However the message was clear.

"The appeal was considered acceptable, but not well-founded," read the statement. "The TIA [International Tribunal of Appeal] took the following sanctions: Mr Haga is suspended for a period of three weeks as from today, June 30. He remains excluded from the results of the South African round of the World Superbike Championship, and must return the trophies, prizes and indemnities received at that event, and bear the costs of the hearing."

Haga's ban means he will miss the Laguna Seca rounds of the WSB Championship, a track which he excels at. His ban also means that it will be virtually impossible for him to sustain his championship challenge, thus robbing the series of a potential first Japanese champion, this year at least.

Many riders, including Carl Fogarty had urged the FIM not to ban Haga as it would deprive the series of what is currently a superb season of action ON the track.

Haga failed two drug tests earlier in the year for having an excess amount of ephedrine in his system. The failure came as a result of Haga unknowingly consuming the ephedrine compound 'Ma Haung' in a dietary supplement he was using during the off-season. Based on this evidence it is strange that Haga failed in his appeal, sadly displaying a lack of flexivity from the FIM's and TIA's part.