A joint statement by MotoGP, the International Race Teams’ Association and the FIM has confirmed that Moto3 squad Max Racing will sack a team member from British rider John McPhee’s side of their garage in the coming weeks, following the release of video evidence of him abusing former rider Tom Booth-Amos during the 2019 Thai Grand Prix.
The incredible footage, captured from outside the temporary garages used by some of the Moto3 teams, shows Booth-Amos remonstrating with an easily identifiable team member from his own CIP Moto team – before the scene takes a very unpleasant turn and the technician repeatedly kicks out at the racer.
This is the only thing being talked about in the paddock tonight: frankly unbelievable footage of a mechanic attacking Moto3 rider Tom Booth Amos in the garage after the 2019 race at Buriram pic.twitter.com/8meawe4iJk
— Simon Patterson (@denkmit) October 1, 2022
There has been increasing pressure from both within and outside the grand prix racing paddock to see him removed from the series for his actions since the story initially broke during last weekend’s race – the first at the track since then the 2019 incident – with factory Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro leading those calls.
“I saw the video, and I’ve never been that angry in all my career,” fumed the Spaniard in an exclusive interview with The Race. “I’ve never seen something like this in a paddock, and I called Carlos Ezpeleta [MotoGP sporting director] and I talked with him.
“For me this guy has to be out of the paddock, and Dorna has to go to the courts with him.”
And while MotoGP promoter Dorna only confirmed over the weekend in Buriram that it was aware of the incident and investigating it, a joint statement has now confirmed that Max Racing, his current employer, will sack him following the Malaysian Grand Prix in three weeks’ time (after both the Australian round and the race at Sepang).
“The video of this incident was widely shared on social media,” the series said, “and the actions of the team member in question raised immediate and serious concerns. The FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports strongly condemn this behaviour.
“Furthermore, it was learned that the person in question continues to work in the paddock and is now employed by a different team, which was unaware of this incident.
“The team has decided to terminate the employment of this staff member, who will not be returning to work for them after the Malaysian Grand Prix.
“The FIM, alongside IRTA and Dorna Sports, considers this to be the correct decision and fully supports the action taken by the team in terminating this person’s contract.
“Abusive behaviour must not and will not be tolerated. All parties will continue to work to make the MotoGP Paddock the safest possible working environment.”
The news marks only the latest departure from the Max Racing Team in recent days, with a statement on Sunday confirming the termination of two other members of the team, one from both McPhee’s and team-mate Ayumu Sasaki’s sides of the garage, after the pair of staffers were caught on camera trying to prevent Tech3 KTM Moto3 rider Adrian Fernandez from following one of their riders during qualifying at the Aragon Grand Prix last month.
When asked to clarify by The Race why both the FIM stewards have not taken official action against the team member involved in the Booth-Amos case and why the punishment for his offences has essentially been suspended until after the Malaysian Grand Prix, a spokesperson for Dorna cited the previous incidents involving the same team as cause for at least the latter.
“Regarding the incident in Aragon,” the said, “the team would have not been able to find substitutes for Japan and Thailand, including travel, visas and logistics. So the sanction was imposed for Australia and Malaysia.
“Regarding the 2019 incident, it must be taken into consideration that it occurred three years ago as well as considering the above, meaning that the team is already short of two members of staff for Malaysia and Australia, for separate incidents.”
