Why Bezzecchi MotoGP race ban appeal bid stood no chance

MotoGP’s logic for rejecting Aprilia’s appeal over Marco Bezzecchi's suspension from the Czech Grand Prix made very clear the series will not tolerate mistreatment of track workers.

Bezzecchi slapped the face of a marshal not once but twice when they accidentally grabbed the throttle of the crashed bike as they attempted to recover it, over-revving the engine in the process.

Aprilia immediately lodged an appeal, which was heard on Saturday night at Brno by the appeals stewards, a separate body that oversees the work of the main stewards panel led by Simon Crafar and that has the power not only to reverse a decision but also to send it to a higher court or to increase the sentence should they deem it too lenient.

They promptly rejected the appeal, citing the importance of marshals and, crucially, the actions they were undertaking at the moment when Bezzecchi lashed out.

"Circuit marshals and other safety officials are fundamental to the safe conduct of motorcycle sport," the citing document detailed. 

"They operate in hazardous environments, often placing themselves in close proximity to moving motorcycles and other dangers in order to protect competitors and facilitate the safe continuation of the event.

"The sport relies upon these officials carrying out their responsibilities without fear of intimidation, abuse or physical assault.

"The principles of sporting conduct require all participants to treat officials, marshals and volunteers with respect at all times.

"Any physical contact of an aggressive nature towards a circuit safety official represents a serious departure from those standards and undermines the mutual trust and respect upon which the safe operation of the championship depends.

"The appeal stewards consider it particularly significant that the individuals involved were marshals actively engaged in the recovery of the rider’s machine following an accident. Such personnel were acting solely in the interests of rider safety, event safety and the orderly conduct of the competition.

"Physical aggression towards marshals is wholly unacceptable in professional motorsport and cannot be tolerated irrespective of the circumstances leading to the incident.

"Failure to respond appropriately to such conduct would risk sending the wrong message to competitors throughout the championship and would be inconsistent with the obligation of the governing body to protect officials, volunteers and workers who contribute to the sport."

Aprilia confirmed on Sunday morning that with the appeal rejected, it now accepted the penalty and would not take it to the international appeal court.

Its decision to appeal went down badly among many MotoGP fans, but team principal Massimo Rivola told the world feed broadcast the appeal wasn't a sign of Aprilia disagreeing with the penalty reasoning.

The reason why we appealed in the beginning was we felt it a disproportion from the action to the penalty according to what we saw in other cases - similar cases - in the past," he said.

He also issued an apology on behalf of the team.

"We also want to apologise to the marshal. Second, we accept the penalty. We also don't tolerate this kind of behaviour," Rivola added.

Bezzecchi also took to social media on Sunday morning to issue an apology for his actions, and also went to personally apologise to the marshal at their post.

"I would like to apologise to the entire MotoGP community for my behaviour toward the trackside marshal," he wrote.

"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."

Bezzecchi’s points lead has already come down to 15 over team-mate Jorge Martin following his Saturday crash.

He will also be wary that Marc Marquez now has another opportunity to further close in.

The reigning champion was 102 points behind Bezzecchi at the start of June following his injury and surgery absence and a tentative first weekend back at Mugello, but has already reduced that gap to 65.