Hoffman to contest sacking..

[tha_jackal]

From a press release issued by Alex Hofmann:


"According to a recent press release issued by my team, my contract as a rider for Team Pramac D’Antin was terminated on the evening after the Portuguese Grand Prix (September 16th, 2007), with immediate effect.

I consider the termination of my contract unjustified, and I will fight this decision with all legal resources at my disposal.

The written dismissal was not based on the race day events, but on my allegedly poor performance throughout the season.

This performance was not as poor as to justify my dismissal. After all, I held eleventh position in the MotoGP World Championship rankings, only nine points behind my team-mate Alex Barros, before I was forced to take time out from racing due to an injury caused by another rider.

My conduct during the race at Estoril also does not justify a dismissal. Because it was always my intention to devote all my efforts in the race to my team, I entered the race with an injury to my hand that had not properly healed. In the warm-up lap, I realised that there was a clutch problem on my number one bike. After changing to the spare bike that was not equipped with the race tyres I had chosen, I then faced a considerable time handicap through having to start from pit lane. Although the field had opened a gap of 11 second in the opening lap of the race, I made every effort to catch up. I was however forced to accept the unfortunate reality that it would be impossible to achieve this goal onboard the spare bike I was riding. Indeed my only hope of improving my position was that if other riders crashed or suffered technical difficulties.

Bearing in mind these circumstances, I felt I could not take any more risks that might endanger the healing process of my injured hand. I therefore decided to retire from the race.

Disappointed and frustrated as I was at the time, I was not really able to properly express my feelings about what had happened immediately after the conclusion of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Considering that I have always made a point of proving my unconditional dedication to Team Pramac d’Antin during 2006 and 2007, I feel that it would have been sufficient to give me a warning.

I would have accepted this course of action, but I will certainly not accept a dismissal without notice. My goal is to conclude the season for my team, and to start again for Team Pramac D’Antin as of the Australian Grand Prix on Phillip Island, October 12th thru 14th, 2007.

I have forwarded this request in writing to my Italian and Dutch employers. I have called upon them to reinstate me as a MotoGP rider in the team, and to duly fulfil the conditions of the existing contracts."



Good luck! It'll be highly unlikely to bear fruit.. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out none the less..

[fatman]

Out with the old, in with the new.

Hoffman hasn't had the best of luck in his MotoGP career but he's never done much even when fully fit. I think it was a weak move to quit the race regardless of his "injury".

Perhaps D'Antin were just looking for an excuse to get someone else on the bike so they can start looking to next year, but can you really blame them?

[ChrisS]

no BMW ride for the Hoff then? If he had a BMW ride he wouldnt care about d'Antin

[osg]

Hofmann obviously still doesn't realise that he has irreperably damaged his career by making that decision.... no matter what position on the track you are, it's plain inexcuseable...... even that dumbass should know that.

[maxu05]

Poor effort from The Hoff. When you look at some of the injuries to people like Elias, Melandri etc and how they got on with it and did their best, then you look at Hoffs effort, what a big girls blouse. He deserved to be sacked IMO.

[ShiftingGears]

Cock. If you're in the premier class you give it your all or get out of there.

[neninja]

He's made himself pretty unemployable by anyone but a German based team now. Who will want to employ someone who gives 50% effort and then threatens legal action when fired.

Also comparing himself to Barros is bizarre. Barros has been disappointing considering the package he's got and Hoffman is saying he is slightly more mediocre than Barros.

[ArmchairBikeFan]

Plus, Barros had a nasty hand injury too, from getting it trapped under the bike when it spat him off, and Hofmann was still slower!
I think The Hoff is popular with commentators and journos because he's apparently a great guy in person. They're too friendly with him to admit he's only there to attract German TV audiences.

[ChrisS]

most riders seem to like him too.
Isn't the german GP the most popular GP outside Spain? I dont think thats because of the hoff

[patnicholls]

This whole incident seems totally out-of-character for Alex - the guys on Eurosport love him, for instance. I guess there's some team politics going on, which is unfortunate.

Tricky one really. He's never set the world on fire in GPs by any stretch - I've always rated him more as a tester than a racer - but this year he's been doing pretty well, certainly no shame in how he's ridden. And he doesn't have the pedigree of most of the rest of the current MotoGP field.

That said, if you've been fired for whatever reason, you may get some money but you won't be getting back on that bike. I reckon if he heads over to WSB there may be a half-decent place for him somewhere there.

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And yes, the Sachsenring GP has always been very popular, even before The Hoff was on the scene.