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Argentina WorldSBK: 'This is not a game, it's people's lives' – Camier

WorldSBK veteran Leon Camier was part of a rider revolt that eventually saw six spaces on the San Juan grid for race one but the Kent man is adamant the track surface is sub-standard and it is too dangerous to race at high temperatures.

A full-on rebellion was squashed by Dorna at the last minute but Camier, along with six other riders, did not take to the grid as they believed the surface was too slippery to race safely.

Camier said he was always going to race on Sunday as the weather is going to be much cooler and the surface will be safe but today it was too risky.

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“From our side, it’s something that has been going on all weekend. We’re on the safety commission and we’ve known this was going to be a problem for many months and for a number of reasons,” said Camier, speaking at the track.

“We have ridden when the track is phenomenally filthy and we’ve tried to go out, do our thing, clean the track, do as best we can but in a situation we should never have been in.

We’ve then ridden in the hot conditions and the FIM have shown us pictures of oil coming through the track, you can pick it up with your hands. The ground is not staying together, it’s not right.

“In the hot conditions on Friday, you couldn’t even get your knee down, which is similar to now. There is no control, we have no control over the bike. We’ve all had massive moments this weekend - none of us are in control - Loris has injured his wrist because of it.”

Camier believes that a lot of riders were pressured to race whether they wanted to or not, and Honda allowed both he and team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari to make up their own minds.

Before the race, 90 per cent of the riders said they didn’t not want to race. We were all pretty adamant it isn’t safe right now. We also gave Dorna the option of two full races tomorrow because conditions will be colder and it is an acceptable surface in cooler conditions.

“A lot of riders have had pressure on them for different reasons, certain manufacturers have been putting fines on riders if they weren’t on the grid. I was lucky with Honda, the first thing they said was rider safety is the priority for them.

“I have to thank them a lot as it seems it’s not the situation for other riders. It’s not a game, it’s people’s lives at stake, and reality is we shouldn’t have been racing today.”

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