Moto3 title contender Romano Fenati was suspended by his own team ahead of Sunday’s round in Austria as a disciplinary measure.
Fenati, 20, races in the third tier of motorcycle racing with the Sky Racing Team by VR46, a team owned by nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi.
Fenati entered the Austria weekend sitting third in the riders’ championship, and qualified 11th on Saturday.
However, the Italian was benched by the Sky team for Sunday, his suspension being confirmed after qualifying.
“Following repeated behaviour not in line with the disciplinary rules of a team, the rider Romano Fenati has been suspended and will therefore not be on the starting grid of the Austrian Grand Prix,” a statement from the team read.
“Removing a rider from the team never good news, but there are rules and standards within the team and he has not complied with them,” team boss Pablo Nieto told motogp.com.
“We will not go into detail but we decided to apply a disciplinary sanction.”
The Moto3 race was won by Spanish rookie Joan Mir on Sunday, while championship leader Brad Binder extended his lead by crossing the line second.