A remorseful Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) admits: “We both cried”

On the Thursday before the Assen GP, the tenth World Championship weekend of the 2026 season, Marco Bezzecchi took the opportunity to apologise once again for the incident in Brno. Following his crash in the Sprint race, the Aprilia factory rider had lashed out at a marshal and was subsequently handed a suspension for Sunday’s race. “It was a bad move on my part. I didn’t handle the situation properly,” admitted the Italian. “I still feel bad – not for myself, but for my team, the whole factory and, above all, for the marshal himself, who was most directly involved in this situation.”

A tearful conversation

Bezzecchi deliberately waited until later to speak to the marshal in question, Ladislav. “I waited a while because I didn’t want people to think I was only apologising to avoid the penalty,” he explained. It was only once the penalty had been confirmed that he went to speak to him. “We spoke, and we both cried. In what was otherwise a difficult time, it was a lovely moment for me, one that lifted a great weight off my shoulders.”

The 27-year-old accepted the race ban without protest. “I understood that. The penalty was fair; I accepted everything.” He wants to use the incident as a lesson to grow as a person: “I learnt the lesson straight away when they told me the decision.”

New team-mate in the Aprilia garage from 2027: Francesco Bagnaia

On the sporting front, his focus is now on Assen, where he secured his first MotoGP podium in 2022. A brief preview of 2027 also followed, as it was officially confirmed on Thursday that Francesco Bagnaia would be riding for the Aprilia factory team from next season onwards. “I’m happy for him, for the team, for the factory. It will be a bit strange sharing the pit, though, because at the end of the day we’ve always been rivals and always will be.” The atmosphere at Aprilia remains excellent, as does his relationship with his current team-mate, Jorge Martin.

At Monday’s Brno test, despite the emotional events of the previous days, Bezzechi completed 50 to 60 laps on the new 850cc Aprilia. For him, it was “one of the best days on the bike.” He can live with the removal of the holeshot device from this weekend onwards: “It’ll be better in terms of safety. It’s good that they’ve taken a firm decision.” Two additional start drills are intended to help the riders adjust to the change.