MOTOGP ORGANISERS Dorna are to retire the number '48' from future Moto2 championships as a marked of respect to Shoya Tomizawa, the 19-year-old Japanese racer killed during the Moto2 race at Misano, just under a fortnight ago.
In Thursday's official pre-event press conference Moto2 Championship leader Toni Elías suggested that his fellow riders vote for Shoya as the recipient of this season's Michel Métraux trophy, and they have done so unanimously. The award recognises the best rider in the category as selected by his competitors and Michel Metraux’s son Olivier will present the trophy to Shoya's family at the next Grand Prix in Japan, after IRTA collected the votes at Aragón on Friday morning.
Tomizawa was killed after a three-bike pile-up at one of the fastest parts of the course. Earlier this week the upcoming Japanese star was buried at a ceremony in Japan.
A memorial plaque bearing Tomizawa's race number will also be given to his parents as a tribute to their son.
