Romano Fenati was disqualified for ‘irresponsible driving’ (Picture: BT Sport)

A motorbike rider has been blasted for nearly causing a horrific crash by grabbing a rival’s brakes during a race.

Stefano Manzi was driving at a speed of around 125mph when Romano Fenati leaned across him and pressed his brake lever.

The shocking incident caused Manzi to briefly lose balance before he regained control of his bike.

Fenati, who has been the subject of controversy in the past, appeared to impede Manzi because of an incident that occurred some laps earlier.


Manzi had attempted to overtake his compatriot but made contact with Fenati’s bike and both ran off the track and lost several positions in the leaderboard.



While Manzi subsequently crashed out, Moto2 rookie Fenati was soon black-flagged by the officials for ‘irresponsible riding’.

He was later handed a two-race suspension by the racing officials, beginning in the next round which takes place in Aragon on September 23.

"He deserves a flogging." "Get him off the track." Romano Fenati grabs the front brake of Stefano Manzi. Unbelievable ? What was he thinking?!#SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/g93QtfT9O0 — Watch MotoGP on BT Sport (@btsportmotogp) September 9, 2018

Former MotoGP rider Colin Edwards said Fenati ‘put somebody’s life in danger’, telling BT Sport: ‘This is unbelievable. Are you kidding me?

‘That’s where you tell him, “go pack your bag and we’ll see you next year”. That’s ridiculous.’

Neil Hodgson added: ‘This is a dangerous sport. If he would have crashed there, it would have been a massive crash.

Italian Fenati has been the subject of controversy in the past (Picture: Getty)

‘This is a man who has got form for doing stupid things on track.

‘Every now and again you get one bad apple. Fenati’s done it before, see ya.’

MotoGP fans react to Romano Fenati’s disqualification:

Needs to have his racing licence rescinded for that, it could have caused a career ending crash for Manzi, the only career that should end is Fenati's, you see why VR46 team ditched him now! — Ursa Minor 🐻 (@UrsaMinorThreat) September 9, 2018

From every race track in the world.....Racing is dangerous enough!!!! — Darren Harris (@DHarris_27) September 9, 2018

Deserves to lose his job for that.. — Carolyn Thomson (@Carolyn_52) September 9, 2018

This is the most underhanded thing I’ve seen in MotoGP for a long, long time. Shocking behaviour from a so called professional pilot. Dorna needs to set an example to put a stop to this, the punishment should be swift & harsh. No wonder Vale fired the moron. Court action? Fired? — Cyndi (@CyndiLovesRoses) September 9, 2018

Lifetime ban deserved for that! — Donna Beckett (@donnab321) September 9, 2018

What the hell hasn’t he had his race license revoked yet. Once again he shown bad judgment on track — Daryl Chaffey (@10DAZZA) September 9, 2018

Disgraceful behavior, not sporting at all😡 — ♦️Tim♦️ (@TimirPatelUK) September 9, 2018

Meanwhile, Pecco Bagnaia extended his lead at the top of the Moto2 World Championships with an emphatic victory at his home Grand Prix in Misano.