I was coming into Brno wanting to make up for the crash in the last race. Friday had gone decently — good feeling, up at the front of the group. Then Saturday came the Sprint, and with it the worst moment of my career.

Two laps from the end I crashed at Turn 3. One of the marshals who came to recover the bike accidentally touched the throttle, making the engine rev on the ground. In that moment I lost control and had a reaction I should never have had.

There’s no race, no frustration, no adrenaline that can justify what I did. I know that. And the stewards established it too, suspending me from Sunday’s race. Aprilia filed an appeal, but it was rejected, and we accepted the decision without taking it any further.

On Sunday morning, before the warm-up, I went in person to see the marshal involved. His name is Ladislav. He understood the stress of the moment, and I’m grateful to him for that. But that doesn’t change what happened.

I want to offer my apologies to the whole MotoGP community for what I did to the marshal on track. I’m also sorry because I know how much commitment and sacrifice marshals put in to keep us safe. Behaviour like this must never happen, and there’s no justification for it. I apologise to everyone, to Aprilia Racing, and to my fans.

Now it’s time to work, to reflect, and to move forward. Assen is next