FIM COURT OVERTURNS ADRIAN FERNANDEZ’S SIX-RACE MOTO3 DISQUALIFICATION

Adrian Fernandez’s six-race Moto3 disqualification has been overturned after Leopard Racing and the rider won their appeal at the FIM International Court of Appeal.

The penalty was imposed in June after officials said Leopard had opened the seals on two of Fernandez’s engines without authorisation from the FIM technical direction. He was disqualified from the Thai, Brazilian, United States, Spanish, French and Catalan Grands Prix—the first six rounds of the season in which the sanction applied. Fernandez, the brother of double MotoGP race winner Raul Fernandez, had been third in the championship before the results were removed.

In its ruling, issued on 15 October, the court said both appeals were admissible and upheld them on their merits. It set aside the two decisions made by the FIM Appeals Commissioners and directed the relevant sporting authorities to take the necessary steps in line with the judgment. The FIM said the detailed legal and technical reasons for the decision would become clear when the reasoned judgment is examined.

The FIM Technical Commission has four weeks to appeal the ruling, so the case may not yet be over. If the decision stands, MotoGP will need to restore Fernandez’s results. The disqualifications cost him 77 points and left him 14th in the standings; reinstatement would move him to fifth on 148 points, two ahead of Marco Morelli.

Leopard welcomed the outcome, thanking supporters for their “unwavering support” during what it called a difficult period. The team also expressed gratitude to its experts, witnesses and legal team, saying they had “restored the honour and dignity” of Leopard Racing and Fernandez.

The appeal’s success reverses a major sporting penalty, but the FIM has not yet published the full reasoning behind the court’s decision. Whether the technical commission challenges the ruling remains unknown.