Moto2’s latest race winner Aron Canet has finally revealed why he wears a bow-tie during podium celebrations following his victory in the Portuguese Moto2 round at Portimao.

The Spaniard - now into his fifth season of Moto2 - finally ended his long wait for a victory in the intermediate class after capitalising on a crash ahead for Alonso Lopez to secure his maiden success at the 71st attempt.

Succeeding in only his second outing with the Fantic Racing team, having switched from the now-departed Pons Racing squad over the winter, not only has Canet waited a long time for his elusive victory, his trip to the top step of the podium comes after 20 previous visits to the rostrum in second or third.

Even so, Canet still made the most of those occasions by adopting a curious signature celebration of donning a bow-tie on top of his leathers during ceremonies. Though asked on numerous occasions to explain why, Canet declined to do so until he made it to the top.

Now with a victory in his name, Canet has subsequently fulfilled that promise, revealing he wears the formal accessory as a deliberate antithesis to the striking tattoos that cover almost his entire body.

He explains that the body art has led to him being judged and stereotyped as a ‘gangster’, an image he said during an interview in 2022 had led to race deals to fall through as a result.

 “That bow tie goes back to the time I was 20 years old and people looked at me in a bad way, labelling me as a gangster just because of my tattoos and piercings,” he said.

“Nowadays it’s considered quite normal and especially young people like it, that is why I put on the bow tie to show that also with tattoos, piercings or even yellow hair, you are not worse than others and you can still be a good person.”

Expressing his pride about his unique look, Canet says he hopes it stands for others judged for their appearance.

“In some way I would like to stand for all those who are discriminated, because of their physical appearance.”