Moto3: Number 50 retired in honour of the late Jason Dupasquier

In honour of the late Jason Dupasquier the number 50 has been retired from further use in the Moto3 World Championship.

In an official ceremony held at the Sachsenring on Friday evening prior to the German Grand Prix, FIM board member Jan Stovicek and Dorna Sports CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta presented a trophy to members of Dupasquier’s CarXpert PrüstelGP Team to mark the retirement of the number.

Several riders from the other GP classes attended the ceremony to pay their respects, including Fabio Quartararo, Marc Marquez and Jack Miller from the premier class.

Dupasquier tragically lost his life aged 19 at Mugello last month after succumbing to injuries sustained during a multi-rider incident on the exit of turn nine in the closing seconds of Q2. The Swiss rider had enjoyed a positive start to his 2021 campaign, which was only his second GP campaign, scoring points in each of the five races prior to Mugello.

Dupasquier began his racing career as a Supermoto rider and was a multiple-time Swiss National champion. In 2016 he switched to road racing and was crowned ADAC NEC Championship Moto3 champion, before entering the Junior World Championship the following year. Dupasquier secured a best result of fourth in the Red Bull Rookies Cup in 2019.

The number 50 is the sixth number to be officially retired in GP racing, with the first being Kevin Schwantz’s number 34 following his retirement in 1995. The number 34 could only be used in the lower classes from that moment onwards. Similarly, Loris Capirossi’s number 65 was retired in honour of his racing career.

Daijiro Kato’s number 74 was retired following his death at Suzuka in 2003, whilst the number 48 is no longer available in Moto2 as a mark of respect for the late Shoya Tomizawa. Marco Simoncelli’s number 58 was retired from MotoGP last year in tribute to the Italian who lost his life at Sepang in 2011.

The numbers of the late Nicky Hayden (69) and Luis Salom (39) have also been retired following their deaths. Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP world champion, died because of injuries sustained in a cycling accident in 2017, whilst Moto3 rider Salom lost his life at Jerez in 2016.

The CarXpert PrüstelGP Team has continued to race in honour of Dupasquier, with teammate Ryusei Yamanaka the sole rider in the team.