With a very intelligent and risky reading of the weather conditions, Manu Gonzalez achieved his first victory in the Moto2 World Championship last Sunday at the Motegi circuit, home of the Japanese GP. Before the race, as other drivers have done on other occasions, Gonzalez privately wore a “hachimaki”, the hair band so representative of the Japanese country, and uploaded the image to his social networks.
However, this seemingly harmless gesture could cost the young Spaniard dearly as, three days after his victory, Gresini Racing’s Chinese sponsor called for his dismissal. In a statement, QJMotor explains that it is an offensive symbol for the Chinese people, as it is closely associated with the Japanese army during the Second World War and the invasion of China by Japan, whose symbolism Chinese society and Country are very sensitive.
“Recently, at the highly anticipated Japanese MotoGP race in Motegi in October 2024, the QJMOTOR team won the race with an outstanding performance. However, a very discordant scene occurred: Gonzalez, a rider from the partner team Gresini, he was invited by the organizer before the start of the race and privately wore the ‘Bojumaki’ decoration of the host country and spread it on his social media,” read the statement from Gresini’s sponsor.
The sponsor admits that it was not an act of bad faith and that it was due to the driver’s ignorance, but considers it too serious to maintain the partnership and continue to be represented by Gonzalez in the rest of the World Championship. “Although it was an unintentional act, as the pilot is European and did not understand Chinese history, such behavior hurt the national feelings of Chinese pilots and the Chinese people.”
“Following the accident, Qianjiang Motorcycle immediately conducted negotiations with its team partner Gresini, demanding that those images and videos be immediately removed and that the team immediately cease its collaboration with the rider.”
“Since its founding, Qianjiang Motorcycle has maintained the core concept of ‘unique craftsmanship and pursuit of excellence’, carefully crafting each motorcycle and striving to seamlessly integrate high quality, excellent performance and affordability, earning high recognition in both the domestic market than abroad”, continues the statement.
At the time of publication of this article, neither the Gresini team led by Nadia Padovani nor Manu Gonzalez himself have reacted to the statement. And of course the photo disappeared from social networks and is no longer visible.
With four races to go, Manu Gonzalez is sixth in the World Championship, equal on points with fifth and just three points from fourth place.
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