Francesco Bagnaia has said sorry for criticising Alex Marquez after they collided and crashed out of the Aragon Grand Prix last weekend.
The reigning MotoGP world champion was furious with the Gresini rider, claiming the accident was «dangerous» and said Marquez «didn’t stop accelerating until he threw me off».
Once the Italian had simmered down, the two had a private meeting in a Ducati truck to clear the air and now the factory Ducati rider Bagnaia said he was wrong with his harsh words.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix, he said: «First of all, I want to say sorry to Alex for the strong words I said to him. I said in the interviews after the race, I was very angry for what happened, and looking at the telemetry, [the accident] was even worse for my point of view.
«But in any case, I was a bit too strong in my words. I didn’t wanted to say that he made me crash on purpose.
«The thing was that his defence was a bit aggressive, like it’s normal when you’re fighting for podium positions and I’m still thinking the same about the incident but the words I said was a bit too much and I say sorry to to Alex.”
He then added: «Sometimes the angriness makes you say something that you don’t think. From my point of view, he came to our office to say sorry for what happened. Enough said. We are two riders. We have two different points of view and respect.»
Marquez was grateful to Bagnaia for publicly apologising for his comments, but feels the damage to his reputation has already been done after the Italian’s remarks were circulated heavily in the media.
«The fact that he apologised, I like it and it’s something I’m very thankful to him for his words,» he said. «But also it’s true that the damage to my person [reputation], my team and also to my riding image has already been done.
«[Having] said that, I want to close this chapter. I don’t want to speak anymore about that. I’m looking forward. We are coming from a real positive weekend in Aragon, so we look forward [to Misano].»
Marquez had also posted a message on his social media handles earlier this week, saying he would «never deliberately crash with another rider» and that the issue between him and Bagnaia is now «settled».
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing crash
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Both riders escaped without breaking any bones in the 80mph crash when their bikes became tangled, sending them both skidding across the surface, with Bagnaia’s arm trapped under his bike.
And the Italian says he is still feeling the impact of the accident ahead of his home race this weekend at Misano.
He said: «Physically not I’m not at my 100 percent. I feel a lot of pain on my shoulder and over the collarbone and neck. But in any case, we will try to get ready.
«This is my home grand prix and it is always fantastic to race in front of all the crowd here.»