POOLE Pirates team boss Neil Middleditch has called for transparency from the world governing body of motorcycle racing amid fresh speculation over Darcy Ward’s failed alcohol test.

Pirates star Ward was handed an indefinite suspension by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme following the Latvian Grand Prix on August 17.

The Aussie’s case is set to be ruled on at an FIM Disciplinary Court hearing on January 30, having already been postponed on two occasions this month.

A report on the Daily Star website on Saturday stated that FIM lawyers were “investigating claims that an off-duty policeman carried out the breathalyser test”.

The article suggested that “if the tests were flawed then the FIM could leave themselves open to a compensation claim from his lawyers for loss of earnings that could run into six figures”.

Pirates team boss Middleditch has urged the governing body to lift the lid on their “train of thought” over the case.

He told the Daily Echo: “It needs to be made known whether the tests were done correctly. The only information we have is that Darcy Ward was over the limit, end of. The FIM is keeping its cards close to its chest and we aren’t getting the information that’s required.

“Everybody wants to know what’s going on, Darcy of all people. We need some transparency, some train of thought from the FIM. What can they be doing? What are they waiting for? Are they taking advice? Are they looking into the way the test was performed?

“We’ve never heard what the readings were. We don’t know how much he was supposedly over and if it is the case that it was an off-duty police officer, who’s to say his machine was calibrated correctly? We don’t know.

“Whether the tests were done correctly is the be-all and end-all. This has taken months which maybe puts a shadow of doubt over the strength of the tests that were done.”

The 22-year-old Ward, who could be hit with a ban of up to two years, has not raced for Pirates since he scored five points in a 45-45 draw at Leicester on August 23.

The suspension caused him to slip out of the top eight in the world championship standings and ultimately miss out on qualification for this year’s series.

Middleditch added: “If the case gets thrown out then I think Darcy has a very good case for compensation because he has potentially lost a six-figure sum in wages.

“That’s just what he’s lost, not to mention what he’s going to lose in the upcoming season through not being in the Grands Prix.”