Massimo Rivola names the penalty Marco Bezzecchi really deserved for marshal slap at Brno

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Marco Bezzecchi earned a race ban for slapping and pushing a marshal after his crash at Brno on Saturday, but Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola believes this punishment was very harsh.

Bezzecchi’s race ban for slapping a marshal felt like a fair punishment, considering the gravity and seriousness of the situation.

The race marshal was just doing his job when he picked up Marco Bezzecchi’s bike. When he accidentally revved the bike, Bezzecchi turned violent, which is unacceptable.

It was not a good look from the Aprilia rider, who made himself look immature. It was unbecoming of a championship leader.

But Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola believes the punishment didn’t fit the infraction, especially compared to similar situations in the past.

READ MORE: Marco Bezzecchi issues formal apology after striking marshal at Czech Grand Prix

Massimo Rivola explains why Aprilia appealed Marco Bezzecchi’s ‘drastic’ punishment for steward incident

Speaking to Speedweek after the Czech Grand Prix, Massimo Rivola was asked why Aprilia decided to appeal Marco Bezzecchi’s race ban.

While Rivola admitted that a punishment was justified, he and Aprilia felt Bezzecchi was being treated harsher than other riders after similar incidents in the past.

“There’s no question that a penalty was warranted. We also apologise to the marshal. However, the punishment seemed disproportionate to us. I had expected a drastic penalty such as a hefty fine or a grid penalty, but not a race ban.

“In the past, there have been several similar situations where crashed riders lost control – I’m thinking of the incident with Morbidelli and Aleix Espargaro (note: Silverstone GP 2025).

“Back then, there were no consequences whatsoever. Such drastic punishments haven’t been handed out before. But I want to emphasise again: we accept this. There is zero tolerance for such behaviour.

“We need to differentiate – Marco’s first attempt at editing, where he tried to ‘save’ his bike after the crash, is completely understandable to me. Everything that came after that was unacceptable.”

Massimo Rivola insists Marco Bezzecchi’s reaction was ‘unacceptable’ despite penalty frustration

In a separate interview with AS, Rivola admitted that while Bezzecchi was right to be frustrated, the way he responded to the situation was absolutely unacceptable.

“Yes, that’s the truth. If you look at the images, he wasn’t calmly (in quotes) walking; he started running when he saw the engine hitting the rev limiter, because the wheel was spinning at exactly 165 kilometres per hour.

“So, imagine if the marshal had lifted the motorcycle, where would we have ended up picking it up… Aside from that, his gesture is unacceptable; that’s all.

“His reaction is typical of someone who sees it thinking, ‘What’s happening to my motorcycle?’, perceiving a dangerous situation. But I repeat, the reaction is unacceptable.”

Bezzecchi’s reaction showed a lack of maturity, something he can ill afford in his pursuit of his first MotoGP world championship.