Japan MotoGP radiation risk "negligible"

The report is in - the Motegi race track in Japan does not pose a radiation threat to visitors and riders who stay for average time of one week, according to ARPA.

ARPA was contracted to take hundreds of samples of air, water, soil and food at and around the Motegi circuit in Japan and released an 11-page report that states "...the radiological risk to an individual of the population in the temporal course of the GP is negligible."

The report will be disseminated by Dorna this week, and at this stage it looks likely that the Japanese GP will go ahead on October 2, which would require all teams attend the race.

However 15 out of 17 riders have already confirmed that they will not travel to Japan for the race out of fears of rising radiation levels. The Motegi track is located roughly 120 kilometres from the Fukishima nuclear plant that began leaking radiation after the March 2011 earthquakes ripped through Japan.

ARPA found that levels of radiation at the Motegi race track are slightly higher than normal, but will not pose a short term threat.

Only Hiroshi Aoyama and Karel Abraham have confirmed they will be happy to race in Japan, but if push comes to shove some of the other 15 riders may be forced to attend.

Contractual obligations and team orders are likely to play a part in who goes to Japan and who boycotts the race.

Two of MotoGP's biggest stars, Australian Casey Stoner and Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, have stated in no uncertain terms that they will not attend the Japanese GP. "I will not go and most riders have the same opinion," Casey Stoner said in early July, 2011.

They still have time to change their minds, and if a majority of riders do end up agreeing to race at Motegi, Stoner and Lorenzo may be forced to defend their positions (first and second in the championship respectively) by attending.

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta previously stated that he would "...review of the first results from the [July] 31, with confirmation if there is any level of radiation which is problematic or not. This is the situation, we agree with the FIM and with the Motegi people, and depending on this result we will go or not."

However Ezpeleta also made it clear that Dorna could not force riders to attend who did not want to. It will be up to individual teams and riders who attends and who doesn't.

"This is a problem, but it's not my problem," said Ezpeleta. "We have an agreement with Motegi to make the race happen. If the teams have an agreement with the riders then it's up to the teams to decide whether they fulfil this agreement or not. We are not considering that. If the investigation is okay the race will happen."

Watch this space...

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