After initially being declared unfit for race two of the WorldSSP championship at Most, Dominique Aegerter was instead given a race ban due to ‘simulating a medical situation’ in an attempt to have Saturday’s race one red-flagged.
A truly bizarre situation for the reigning WorldSSP champion who has admitted to his role with a supporting statement.
Aegerter, who was in contention to create Supersport history in race one – the Swiss rider was attempting to win his tenth race in a row – was involved in a collision at turn one that saw him retire from the race.
Part of a four-rider group that went down, Aegerter was immediately taken for medical checks before the potential for concussion was found.
As a result Aegerter was declared unfit, but after further investigation, Aegerter was deemed to have played a key role in simulating a ‘medical situation’ which is why a one-race ban was put in place. Had that not happened, Aegerter would actually have been passed fit for race two.
A statement from WorldSBK officials said: “On Saturday afternoon, Aegerter was rescued on the track and checked by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the Medical Centre and was declared unfit due to the presence of possible concussion symptoms. On Saturday evening, Aegerter went to the Hospital for further assessments and on Sunday morning he admitted the simulation of symptoms to the CMO, and after a deep re-check was declared able to ride.
“Following a FIM Stewards investigation, FIM Stewards ruled that Aegerter acted in an unsporting manner by simulating a medical situation in order to delay the recovery process and thus force a stoppage of the race by red flag. This is something that the 31-year-old Swiss rider admitted to with a supporting statement, submitted to the FIM Stewards. For his unsporting behaviour, he has been given an immediate one race ban, which means he will not take part in Race 2 at Most.
“After clarifications of yesterday’s behaviour to the Chief Medical Officer of the circuit and the subsequent further medical assessments and examinations that have been made, it is declared that Dominique Aegerter would have been fit to race but will not take part due to the FIM Stewards’ ruling.”
Lorenzo Baldassarri, Aegerter’s closest rival in the championship, went on to win race two in Most, his second victory of the weekend and third of the year.