Two engines used by Leopard Racing rider Adrian Fernandez in 2026 have been found to have been opened without authorization, according to findings from the Technical Director and the official reports from the engine manufacturer. Subsequently, the FIM MotoGP Stewards have disqualified Fernandez from the first six Grands Prix of the season – the events where the engines were used.
According to the Sanctions documents, after the French GP, the engine manufacturer requested – as is standard – for the seals be removed from their riders first group of engines, which had reached the end of their service life. It was observed that the seals on one of Fernandez’ engines were not consistent with the standard wiring procedure.
Following further checks, and based on the Technical Director’s findings regarding the seals and the official report from the engine manufacturer, it was found that this engine was opened without authorisation.
The technical infringement means the engine must be counted as new in the rider’s allocation, according to Art. 2.6.3.3.13(c): “an engine with damaged, tampered with or missing security seals is deemed to have been rebuilt and must be treated as a new engine in the rider allocation.”
In addition, the FIM MotoGP Stewards have imposed penalties. They found this contravenes Article 2.6.3.3 of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship Regulations, Moto3™ class Engine Durability and Article 3.3.2.2 (any corrupt or fraudulent act, or any action prejudicial to the interests of the meetings or of the sport, carried out by a person or a group of persons occurring during an event).
The penalty for this from the Stewards is disqualification from the Thai, Brazilian, US and Spanish Grands Prix – events in which this engine was used.
Then, at the conclusion of the race weekend in Mugello, some engines were requested to be surrendered by the Leopard Racing team so that they could be examined to determine whether they conformed with the regulations.
Once removed, the engines were inspected by the engine manufacturer, to confirm the condition of the seals at the time they were surrendered by the team. During this process, it was observed that both the seals wires and sealing stickers on one engine showed evidence of tampering.
The engine was transported to the subsequent event under the supervision of Technical Control and there, opened by the engine manufacturer for inspection under the supervision of the Technical Director. During this procedure, the engine manufacturer identified various anomalies indicating that this engine had been adjusted and therefore opened.
Therefore, based on the Technical Director’s findings and the official report from the engine manufacturer, it was also found that this second engine had been opened without authorisation.
Again, it is considered a new engine in the rider allocation due to the technical infringement. And again, the Stewards have imposed a penalty – disqualification from the French and Catalan GPs, where this second engine was used.
This leaves the #31 with only the 13 points from the Italian GP at Mugello, dropping him from third in the standings to the lower end of the top 20.
Read the full penalty documents from the FIM MotoGP Stewards HERE and HERE.