Barros fined £1.7m

Despite coming third in the British GP Alex Barros did not have a good weekend, finding out that he has just been fined nearly £2 million for breaking his contract with Gauloise Yamaha.

Spanish tobacco giant Altadis, which owns both the Gauloise and Fortuna brands, took Barros to court after he broke his contract a year early and switched to the rival Repsol Honda team in 2004.

The final decision was announced by the French court at the end of last week and Barros has been ordered to pay the tobacco giant £1.7 million ($2.9 million) plus the interest that that amount would have earned from November 2003 till the day he pays it.

He will also have to pay over £173,000 ($300,000) in court costs.

Read the full story about Barros plus get all the rundown from the Donington GP, in MCN, out July 27.