MotoGP Brno: Aldeguer tops Warm-Up; Bezzecchi apologizes to the marshal. Today’s TV schedule

Bezzecchi has made amends after hitting a marshal during the Sprint; he will not race at Brno today. Three Ducatis lead the Warm Up.

This morning the MotoGP teams had a final 10 minutes to prepare for the eagerly awaited Czech Republic Grand Prix. The best time in Warm Up was set by Fermin Aldeguer, who finished ahead of the Ducatis of Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio, two riders who should be among the main protagonists this afternoon.

Fourth time for Pedro Acosta, who crashed in the sprint race and is determined to bounce back on his KTM. The best Aprilia of the session was Ai Ogura, pole-sitter and second at the finish on Saturday. The Japanese rider is certainly one of the favorites to win the race. Pecco Bagnaia, winner of the Sprint, ended the morning with the twelfth time. It will be very hot in the afternoon and with 21 laps to go, tire management will be crucial. At Brno you need to pay particular attention to front tire wear. Everyone is expected to run with a medium front and a medium rear.

As has been known since last night, Marco Bezzecchi has been excluded from the Czech Republic GP following his reaction after crashing at Turn 3 in the sprint race. He shoved and struck one of the marshals who was trying to recover his bike in the gravel. From the videos you can see that the marshal, in attempting to lift the number 72 RS-GP26, inadvertently touches the throttle and gives it a blip (not ideal for the engine): this seems to be what angered the Aprilia rider, obviously unjustifiable and rightly punished for violating Article 3.3.2.2, having carried out an action “prejudicial to the interests of the sport.”

Aprilia had the right to appeal and exercised it, but the FIM Appeal Stewards Panel rejected it and thus confirmed the disqualification of Bezzecchi that had been imposed by the FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel. The conduct of the rider from Romagna was deemed serious and the sanction proportionate to the gravity of the episode.

The current championship leader apologized via a message posted on social media: "I would like to extend my apologies to the entire MotoGP community for the gesture I made towards the marshal trackside. I am also sorry because I know how much commitment and sacrifice the marshals make to ensure our safety. These behaviors must not happen and have no justification. I apologize to everyone, Aprilia Racing and my fans."

This morning Bezzecchi also went to the marshal to apologize to him directly; he hugged him and gave him his gloves. He was visibly shaken, aware of the mistake made in a moment of poor clarity.

Sky Sport MotoGP spoke with Massimo Rivola, CEO of Aprilia Racing: "We also apologize to the marshal, we accept the penalty, also because we cannot tolerate behavior like the one Marco had. We appealed because the sanction seemed disproportionate to the action, given that in the past there have been milder actions with virtually non-existent penalties. We know that now there is a precedent and that this is the line of conduct; we are happy to comply. It is right that the rule is always this."

The Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP races will be broadcast live on TV by Sky Sport MotoGP. For live streaming, the Sky Go and NOW apps are available. The free-to-air TV channel TV8 and the TV8.it website will broadcast everything on a delayed basis. Below are today’s times.

11:00: Moto3 race, 16 laps

12:15: Moto2 race, 18 laps

14:00: MotoGP race, 21 laps