This is the horrifying moment a motorbike racer pulled up against his rival while reportedly doing over 200km/h and yanked on his brake.
Romano Fenati is facing calls for him to be banned from the sport for life after trying to slow down fellow Italian Stefano Manzi as they accelerated out of a corner during Sunday’s Moto2 race in San Marino.
Video of the incident shows Fenati move towards Manzi before reaching over with his left hand to squeeze his brake as they reached speeds well in excess of 100mph (160km/h). MailOnline said the pair were doing 140mph (225km/h).
Manzi’s motorbike is seen wobbling as he briefly lost control of the machine during the 23rd lap. He then recovered and continued the race.
Fenati, 22, was disqualified for the manoeuver and Moto2 bosses have banned him from competing in the next two races.
The incident came after the sportsmen made contact earlier in the same race as Manzi tried to overtake Fenati. That led to Manzi receiving his own penalty from race officials.
On Monday, Fenati’s team, Marinelli Rivacold Snipers, fired him for his “unsporting, dangerous and damaging’ behaviour”, the Daily Mail reported.
In a statement the team said: “Here we are. Now we can communicate that the Marinelli Snipers Team shall terminate the contract with the rider Romano Fenati, from now on, for his unsporting, dangerous and damaging conduct for the image of all.
“With extreme regret, we have to note that his irresponsible act endangered the life of another rider and can’t be apologised for in any way. The rider, from this moment, will not participate in any more races with the Marinelli Snipers team.
“The team, Marinelli Cucine, Rivacold and all the other sponsors and the people that always supported him, apologised to all the World Championship fans.”
Fanati on Monday released a statement on Twitter apologising to “the whole sports world”.
He wrote that he had made a “disgraceful gesture, I was not a man”.
Fanati said, in hindsight, he should have finished the race and then told race directors about his competitor’s earlier infraction, instead of reacting to “provocations”.
“I want to apologise to everyone who believed in me and all those who felt hurt by my action,” he wrote, before admitting he has an “impulsive character”.
British racer Cal Crutchlow, who came third in the premier class MotoGP race, said Fenati “should never race a motorcycle again”, Sky News reported.
“He should have walked in his garage and his team should have kicked him straight out the back.
“You can’t do this to another motorcycle racer. We are risking our lives enough... To grab the brake lever on the straight he deserves to be kicked straight out.”
Former American MotoGP rider Colin Edwards, who was commentating on the race, said the incident was “unbelievable” and that Fenati had “put somebody’s life in danger”.