Bezzecchi reacts emotionally to MotoGP suspension and aftermath

Bezzecchi caused a stir in Brno last weekend after he struck a marshal following his crash in the sprint race. The championship leader received a one-race MotoGP suspension and therefore missed Sunday’s race. Although Aprilia unsuccessfully appealed the penalty, Bezzecchi made it clear in Assen that he fully agrees with the stewards’ decision.

"I completely understood. I think the penalty was right and I accepted everything." an emotional Bezzecchi told, among others, GPblog. "I try to take this as an opportunity to be better as a person, but in general, I think the penalty was okay. It's a moment that I want to use as a lesson. But I already got a lesson immediately when they told me about the decision. This is why I think it was the correct one."

The championship leader continues that it was difficult to accept the heavy sanction, but that he sees it as a chance to grow. "Of course, it was not easy to accept. We are riders and we want to ride, but in the end, it's like this. So, of course, it's an opportunity to grow and to try to improve in everything, in every aspect, also in terms of riding. So hopefully it will be something that can really help me." the Aprilia rider says.

After the incident, Bezzecchi offered both personal and public apologies, to the marshal involved and to the sport as a whole. The Italian says he deliberately waited until the penalty was officially confirmed. "Of course, I expected to get a sanction because it's a gesture that you shouldn’t do. I waited a bit to go and say sorry to the marshal because I didn't want to make people think that going to say sorry straight away was a way to avoid the penalty." he explains.

On the morning of the Grand Prix from which he was excluded, Bezzecchi sought out the marshal. "I waited until the penalty was confirmed to go there and make a sincere apology to him for my mistake. We spoke a bit, we both cried both."

According to the Aprilia rider, the conversation meant a lot to him. "The incident was a bad moment, but the apology was a very beautiful moment for me, which took away a lot of weight off my shoulders. But I expected immediately to get a penalty. I didn't know which one, but in the end, it was that one, and that was okay." Bezzecchi concludes.