“I was shocked”: Brno MotoGP marshal struck by Marco Bezzecchi speaks out

The marshal who was struck by Marco Bezzecchi after the Italian crashed out of the Brno MotoGP Sprint has spoken publicly for the first time.

Bezzecchi was suspended from the remainder of the Czech MotoGP for striking the marshal who was trying to recover his bike after the crash at turn three on the penultimate lap of the Sprint.

Aprilia appealed the decision but the appeal was rejected.

Understandably, the majority of attention in MotoGP following the Sprint has been directed towards the incident, rather than the result of the race. This in itself has implications for Bezzecchi, of course, but it also had an impact on the marshal, Ladislav, himself, who, like most people, is not accustomed to being involved in an incident that garners global attention.

“I’m okay,” said the marshal when TNT Sports spoke to him on Sunday morning.

“I mean, at that moment I was shocked and at night when the wave of the video and all the fans seeing it, the whole world, I was really down because it’s something new for me.”

Ladislav added that he “understood” Bezzecchi’s stress in that moment and that the incident was caused by a misunderstanding.

“He was surely stressed, and I understood his situation: he crashed,” he said.

“So, I did my job, I went for the bike and I picked it up. 

“I pressed the clutch and tried to pick it up because it was still on and the bike started rolling, so I wanted to put it back down and it revved up. 

“He probably thought that I did it on purpose [but] it was a pure accident. Then, everyone saw what happened.”

A public apology was issued by Bezzecchi and MotoGP on Sunday morning, and the Italian also went to Ladislav in person to offer his apology.

“I’ve seen it [the apology],” Ladislav said, “and he just came to me and apologised to me in person. 

“I understand him and I wish him the best of luck. It really matters to me that he apologised.”