Leopard Moto3 team has appeal against mass disqualification rejected

The Leopard Moto3 team has had both appeals against a six-race disqualification for Adrian Fernandez rejected by the FIM MotoGP stewards, following a hearing on Friday.

The Leopard Honda team was found to have tampered with the seals on two engines across the first six races of the season.

This was discovered after a routine engine seizure by Honda at the French Grand Prix, following the end of that unit’s lifespan.

Adrian Fernandez, Leopard Racing, Moto3 2026

© Gold and Goose

Following the discover by Honda and a further investigation by Technical direction, a second engine was inspected, with evidence of the same tampering also found.

On Thursday, the FIM stewards announced that Leopard and Adrian Fernandez had been disqualified from the first six rounds of the 2026 season.

He had been in third in the standings after last week’s Italian Grand Prix.

Leopard lodged an appeal against both decisions, but these have been rejected, with the stewards noting that the squad failed to offer “a robust” explanation for the engine seal tampering.

The full statement from the FIM read: “The Appeal was directed towards the process of securing the engine and subsequent inspections.

“The Technical Director had determined, based on physical inspection, manufacturer evidence and examination of the engine seals, that the integrity of the approved sealing system had been compromised and that engine #810 had been opened without authorisation.

“Pursuant 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.

“The engine had already completed one service life and had been removed from the rider's allocation under the normal end-of-life procedure. However, the subsequent finding that the security seals had been tampered with and that the engine had been opened without authorisation requires that engine to be treated as a rebuilt engine and therefore as a further engine within the rider allocation.

“Accordingly, engine A810 counts as one engine used during its original service life and one additional engine by virtue of the deemed rebuilding under Art. 2.6.3.3.13(c).

“Consequently, engine A810 has been used as an allocated engine and, following the finding that the approved security sealing system was compromised, is deemed under Art. 2.6.3.3.13(c) to be a rebuilt engine and therefore treated as a new engine in the rider allocation. The rider's engine allocation has been adjusted accordingly.

Adrian Fernandez,2026, Moto3, pole position, French GP

© Gold & Goose

“The Technical Director’s decision was based solely upon the established fact that the integrity of the approved sealing system was compromised and that the engines were opened without authorisation.

“The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel agreed with the application of the Technical Regulations as determined by the Technical Director and the resulting allocation consequences prescribed by Art. 2.6.3.3.13(c).

The FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel considered that the unauthorised interference with the approved technical sealing system constitutes an action prejudicial to the interests of the meetings or of the sport within the meaning of Article 3.3.2.2.

“The FIM MotoGP Stewards Appeal panel were drawn to Article 2.4.5.3 (3) whereby presentation of a machine (at Technical Control) is deemed as an implicit statement of conformity with the technical regulations.

“Responsibility for the preparation of the machine to comply with all technical and safety regulations rests with the team.

"The FIM MotoGP Stewards Appeal panel were satisfied with the explanation of the Technical Director and Technical staff, the engine manufacturer’s service company technician and their processes, including further presentation of photographs of the condition of the seals and engine internals.

“The Team were unable to supply a robust explanation regarding the condition of the security seals and consequent evidence that an invasive process had occurred within the engine.

“The approved sealing system forms an integral part of the Moto3 engine durability regulations and is the mechanism by which compliance with the engine allocation and rebuilding restrictions is verified.

“By presenting engines whose approved security seals had been tampered with and which had been opened without authorisation, the team presented material that could no longer be verified as complying with the regulations.

"Once that integrity had been compromised, the Technical Director could no longer establish with certainty that the engine remained in the condition in which it was originally approved and allocated.

Adrian Fernandez, Leopard Racing, 2025 Malaysian Moto3

© Gold and Goose

“It is a long-established principle of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship Regulations that results must be founded upon machinery whose compliance can be verified.

“Where the actions of a team/competitor render that verification impossible, the resulting sporting outcome cannot be considered sufficiently reliable to remain in the classification.”

The wording in the document for engine A811 is identical.

Leopard now has five days to appeal this decision to the International Court of Appeal.

The team has yet to publicly comment on the situation.