June 21 (Reuters) - MotoGP championship leader Marco Bezzecchi apologised after being suspended from Sunday’s Czech Grand Prix following an altercation with marshals during Saturday’s sprint race.
The Italian crashed in the sprint and was seen pushing and striking marshals as they attempted to recover his bike, an incident that led to his exclusion from Sunday’s race. Aprilia lodged an appeal against the decision, but it was rejected.
“I would like to apologise to the entire MotoGP community for my behaviour toward the trackside marshal," Bezzecchi said in a statement issued by Aprilia.
"I'm also sorry because I know how much effort and sacrifice marshals make to ensure our safety. This behaviour shouldn't happen and there is no justification for it. I apologise to everyone, Aprilia Racing and all my fans.”
Aprilia, who filed an appeal on Saturday that was rejected, later confirmed they would not pursue the matter further, saying: "We accept the penalty and won’t be appealing to the CAI (International Court of Appeal)."
Bezzecchi also visited trackside on Sunday to apologise in person to the marshal, gifting him his racing gloves and an Aprilia team shirt.
The marshal, Ladislav, said he understood the rider’s reaction and described the incident as accidental.
"I mean, he was surely stressed, and I understand his situation. He crashed. So I did my job, I went for the bike and I picked it up, pressed the clutch and tried to pick it up, because it was still on and the bike started rolling," he told TNT Sports.
"So I wanted to put it back down and it revved up. He probably thought that I did it on purpose. It was a pure accident. And then everyone saw what happened.
"I understand him and I wish him the best of luck. It really matters to me that he apologised."
Meanwhile, seven-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez won the Czech Grand Prix on Sunday, trimming the gap to championship leader Bezzecchi to 40 points.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
