Preliminary Motegi Report Gives the All-Clear for MotoGP

The FIM’s preliminary report on the safety concerning the Twin Rings Circuit at Motegi was announced after the conclusion of the US GP at Laguna Seca this week, and confirming what many had already expected, the study concludes that it is safe for the MotoGP riders to go race at the upcoming Japanese GP. Showing that there were no health concerns from radiation in and around the Motegi circuit, Dorna has said it will formally announce its intention to hold the Japanese GP as planned, with its rescheduled time in early October.

With MotoGP riders threatening to boycott going to the Japanese round, lead by Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, because of the safety concerns, it will be interesting to see what tune the paddock is singing when it meets again in the Czech Republic in three weeks’ time. While Stoner has been steadfast that he will not be going to Motegi, Lorenzo seemed to waiver more as the weekend went on. Many of the riders have pulled-back their support for the boycott, instead stating that they would wait for the results of the independent study.

Carried out by the Italian firm ARPA (an independent company with expertise in environmental radiation), the study concludes that adults would be subjected to less than 30?Sv for the whole week, which is less radiation than most of the riders would receive in the flight to Japan from their home country. You can read the full preliminary report in PDF here.

ARPA Dose estimate for adult people in one week

Inhalation	< 0.1?Sv
Ingestion	< 5?Sv
Radiation	about 24?Sv
Total Dose	< 30?Sv

“The above mentioned weekly dose is in line with the average world natural sources dose of about 46?Sv, obtained by the yearly average dose of 2.4mSv (Unscear 2000). Based on the estimate dose it can be said by no doubt that the radiation risk during the race event is negligible,” concluded the report.