Moto3 JHK T-Shirt Laglisse team that will be fielding this season’s title favourite Maverick Vinales and first female Moto3 rider Ana Carrasco, just took a massive blow, as team owner Jaime Fernandez Aviles has been sentenced to serve a two years and six months in jail, plus a € 52,000 fine for misappropriation and falsifing public documents.
According to Spanish website motocuatro.
com the story dates back to 2005 (it seems that the Spanish judicial system is a slow as Italy’s) when Fernández-Avilés rented a truck (valued at €48,000) for the racing, season but instead of returning it or renewing the rental contract, the Spanish team owner falsified a purchase document and counterfeited registration documents.
The trial went on for years between various appeals and lastly a pardons request that was turned down last month.
The prison doors will open for Fernandez-Aviles on March 12th when he is expected to turn himself in.
At the present it is unknown how Fernandez-Aviles prison sentence will effect the team, or if Pablo Nieto, the squad’s sporting director will be able to carry on without the team owner and if the various sponsors will decided to drop the squad, not wanting their names involved in the ’scandal’ and leaving Vinales and Carrasco in the lurch, just five weeks before the start of the Moto3 championship season.