Francesco Bagnaia Issues Public Apology To Alex Marquez

Francesco Bagnaia apologizes to Alex Marquez following a collision in the Aragon MotoGP race.

Apr 12, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Francesco Bagnaia (1) of Italy and Ducati Lenovo Team during practice for the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Francesco Bagnaia has issued an apology to rival Alex Marquez following a collision between the two riders during last Sunday’s Aragon MotoGP race.

The incident, which occurred on lap 18 of the 23-lap race at turn 13, was initially deemed a racing incident by the stewards. However, the collision led to a heated exchange of accusations between Bagnaia and Marquez, which was only partially resolved in a private meeting later that evening at Aragon.

Bagnaia initially accused Marquez of deliberately crashing into him, claiming telemetry data from his bike supported this view. However, Marquez denied the allegations on social media. Tensions ran high until Thursday, ahead of the San Marino GP, when Bagnaia publicly apologized for his strong post-race comments.

“I want to say sorry to Alex for the strong words I said in the interviews after the race,” Bagnaia said, as quoted by Crash.net.

“I was very angry for what happened and looking at the telemetry was even worse from my point of view.

“But in any case, I was a bit too strong in my words. I didn’t want to say that he made me crash on purpose.

“The thing was that his defence was a bit aggressive, like is normal when you are fighting for the podium positions.

“I still think the same about the incident, because I have my way of thinking. But for the words I said [about him], I think it was a bit too much and I’m sorry to Alex.

“Sometimes the [anger] makes you say something that you don’t think. So, my point of view is that.

“He came to our office to say sorry for what happened and nothing more. We are two riders, we have two different points of views.

“It’s respectful, but for sure it’s the same ambition in the wrong moment.”

The incident has further implications for Bagnaia’s championship contention. As it stands, he trails 23 points behind Jorge Martin, significantly denting his chances of making up ground in the remaining races. Adding to his challenges, Bagnaia’s physical condition has been compromised. Though he avoided serious injuries, Bagnaia has reported considerable pain and limited mobility in his shoulder, collarbone, and neck.

“Physically, I’m not at my 100%,” he added.

“I feel a lot of pain on the shoulder, over the collarbone, neck. But in any case, we will try to be ready.

“It’s my home grand prix and it’s always fantastic to race in front of all of the crowd here.

“I make a million kilometres every year here, so I can be ready in any case.”

He continued:

“I don’t feel that I can move my body as I want.

“But that’s normal. The impact was huge and 170kg were on my shoulders. And the hit on the gravel was quite huge.

“Luckily I didn’t have any broken bones, but the muscles and the ligaments are suffering a bit.”