Stoner, Lorenzo out of Japanese MotoGP

Boycotts are rare in motorsport, especially in MotoGP. The last time we can remember a rider deciding not to race was in 1989, at Misano. Kevin Schwantz signalled a stop proceedings mid-race when the heavens opened up, which on the mixed tarmac surface of Misano made it dangerous to proceed.

Not all riders agreed with the boycott however and some kept riding in the torrid conditions. The organisers were none too keen on the rider boycott and the race was eventually won by Pierfrancesco Chili.

Will we see a repeat at the Japanese GP on October 2, 2011?

MotoGP promoter Dorna says that it will make an official decision on whether the GP will take place by the end of July this year, after several riders have already decided to pull out.

Update: Only two riders out of 17 have confirmed they would be happy to race in Japan in October - Hiroshi Aoyama and Karel Abraham.

The concern is the level of radiation at the Motegi circuit, which is located about 120 kilometres from the Fukushima nuclear power plant that began leaking radiation after the March 2011 earthquakes devastated Japan.

"I will not go and most riders have the same opinion," said Casey Stoner at a press conference during the weekend's race at the Sachsenring.

"If a similar thing happened near my home in Australia I wouldn't be going back there. It'd be the same situation," noted Stoner.

"That's my opinion and I've had it for some time. Not as long as Jorge. I took more time to make my decision, but I will not go there. I guess it's up to the organisers to figure out what's going to happen," noted Stoner.

Have the organisers figured it out?

Dorna is currently awaiting a radiation report after CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta said a team of specialists had been deployed and were currently investigating the situation at Motegi. He said the race would not be run if there was a risk.

In a TV interview with the BBC, Ezpeleta said "Maybe three grands prix ago they requested [an investigation] and we decided to make an investigation with a private company. We have done it. From last week they are investigating there.

"We will have the results by July 24, with the review of the first results from the 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."

The Dorna chief added that it would be up to teams and riders own decisions whether to attend the race if it gets the green light: "This is a problem, but it's not my problem. 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.

"I don't think all of the riders have the same opinion," contined Ezpeleta, "there has been some pressure from some of them, but this is not our problem, the teams need to sort that."

The 2010 MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo has also decided to boycott the race, but would not be drawn on the issue: "I took this decision not to go to Japan a long time ago. So I am not active in the ongoing discussions about going to Japan because I have already made my decision.

"I think if we can help Japan in another way we will, but I think going there is not real support," opined the 24-year-old Spaniard.

If the race does get the go ahead, it will be without its drawcard Honda and Yamaha riders and pretty much the whole grid, leaving the door open for two sole riders to claim valuable points.

There's also the possibility of shifting the race to the Suzuka circuit which is much further away from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It could end up being a very interesting run to the end of the 2011 MotoGP season.

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