Photo: F. Glaenzel
Two days ago we reported about Stefan Bradl saying he was a rider free of contract and was looking for a ride at the Brickyard in Indianapolis, but things are getting messy.
It turns out that even though Bradl's lawyer assured him that he could consider himself free to choose another team, team Forward Racing has some clauses that allows it to retain the German rider. It goes without saying, that Stefan Bradl is the team's most important asset, and team manager Marco Curioni confirms this.
Curioni says that the team is not being dismantled, but is in fact in the process of raising enough money to participate at Brno. In these circumstances, letting a rider like Bradl simply walk away is impossible without receiving certain financial compensations. We should probably read "someone buying Bradl out of his contract with Forward Racing".
The same Forward official says that the team must make some money-saving moves. Though Curioni didn't utter these exact words, we know that letting Bradl go in exchange for a certain amount of money might be regarded as a way to save a bit. That is, getting a lower-paid rider to replace him plus the buyout boon.
So Bradl remains now at the mercy of whatever negotiations will take place. If Forward is not asking a huge sum to let him go, maybe Aprilia will pay and retain Bradl for at least a season and a half, or maybe extend the offer to a 2-year deal, plus the remainder of the 2015 season.
As for the owner of Forward Racing, Giovanni Cuzari, things are only getting harder. His recently-bought 4-seat airplane was also seized, as the investigators suspect that it could have been bought with money obtained from tax evasion.
Curioni says that the team is not being dismantled, but is in fact in the process of raising enough money to participate at Brno. In these circumstances, letting a rider like Bradl simply walk away is impossible without receiving certain financial compensations. We should probably read "someone buying Bradl out of his contract with Forward Racing".
The same Forward official says that the team must make some money-saving moves. Though Curioni didn't utter these exact words, we know that letting Bradl go in exchange for a certain amount of money might be regarded as a way to save a bit. That is, getting a lower-paid rider to replace him plus the buyout boon.
Forward could allow Bradl to ride for Aprilia only at Indy, but Noale wants all or nothing
Curioni talked to Fausto Gresini, who runs the Aprilia Gresini team, and told him that Forward could "lend" Bradl for Indianapolis, on the condition that he remains under contract with Forward. Gresini and Aprilia replied that this was not what they had in mind. On the other hand, Aprilia is willing to hire Bradl in the very moment he is truly free from any contract, and Max Biaggi supports the idea of having the young German as part of the factory team. Meanwhile, in Moto2, Forward is not letting Simone Corsi and Lorenzo Baldassarri go.So Bradl remains now at the mercy of whatever negotiations will take place. If Forward is not asking a huge sum to let him go, maybe Aprilia will pay and retain Bradl for at least a season and a half, or maybe extend the offer to a 2-year deal, plus the remainder of the 2015 season.
As for the owner of Forward Racing, Giovanni Cuzari, things are only getting harder. His recently-bought 4-seat airplane was also seized, as the investigators suspect that it could have been bought with money obtained from tax evasion.
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