Written by Hafiz Akbar Edited by Harshi Vashee
With the upcoming Indonesian round of the World Superbike Championship right around the corner, preparations are underway to ensure the smooth running of the event. Chassis shipment being one of the said preparations taking place in Mandalika.
However, not all was smooth sailing as one of the local organizers was caught to have ‘illegally opened’ one of the cargo crates containing the chassis of the Ducati Panigale V4R, which is set to be used in the later weeks of this month.
Citing Speedweek, it was reported that a local organizer opened the box containing a V4R chassis and tampered with the race-approved chassis. Although not rendering it useless, the incident surely made some minds, especially Ducati’s, uneasy as it could lead to espionage.
The local organizers have issued immediate termination to the individual responsible for illegally opening the cargo box. WSBK Executive Director, Gregorio Lavilla has acknowledged this occurrence and in turn has apologized to Ducati Corse that such an occurrence has had to happen
WSBK regulations dictate that, other than local customs and excise officers, only team personnel can purposefully open the box containing a bike chassis so, this occurrence was a massive letdown on the part of the Indonesian organizers and will most definitely cast a shadow of doubt with other racing series touted to race on the recently finished track, such as MotoGP and Formula 1.