In honour of Marco Bezzecchi fight with the marshal this weekend we give you our motorsport punch-up awards for Brno!
Punch-up 1: Alan Carter vs the marshal at Silverstone 1986
Back in the mid-80s, a punch to the hooter was a standard way to explain your point of view. Indeed, it’s still the main form of communication in most areas of Australia – especially after a few tinnies. So when some trumped-up official nerd wearing headphones tried to explain to the 250cc coal farmer Alan Carter that his race was over after his last-lap crash, he was met with an epic punch up the bracket. And quite rightly so. Keep your opinions to yourself, jobsworth. This award goes to the rider who hit hard.
Winner: Ai Ogura
The loveable chopstick-wielding Aprilia rider may not have quite won in Brno, but pole position and second place in both the sprint and main race was a decent effort. Furthermore, he was the only rider able to take the fight to the factory Ducatis all weekend. Shame he has to give the team’s only fast bike to Resting Bitch Face Raul (RBFR) for next weekend’s race in Holland.
Punch-up 2: Marco Bezzecchi vs the marshal at Brno 2026
Bezzecchi, like a Delta airline passenger, isn’t very good at sprints. But the Italian took it one stage further (and rubbisher) in Czechobrno by crashing and then slapping a marshal twice. It seems the Aprilia rider was annoyed by the marshal not picking up his bike carefully enough… but crashing it is fine. After slapping the marshal once, the race official countered by informing the Italian rider that he had a haircut that would haunt him in years to come… which caused Bez to see red (Marquez near the front) and slap the marshal again. Such spanking silliness earned Marco a race ban… which also helped make the championship more exciting.This award goes to the rider who slapped like a girl and ended up looking a bit pathetic.
Winner: Marco Bezzecchi
When it comes to failure weekends, Marco Bezzecchi makes a rained-off trip to Knockhill shine like a beacon of success by comparison. Before the sprint race the mullet-harbouring Italian was miles ahead in the championship, with the charge from his teammate and nearest rival, Jorge ‘Mr Glass’ Martin, effectively rendered lame thanks to his long-lap penalty for previous stupidity. However, come Sunday evening, the self-named Martinator was just 8 points from the bitch-slapping Bez. And more worryingly, a certain force of pure evil is now lingering like an unwelcome chorizo fart just 40 points away…
Punch up 3: Kurt Busch vs Kyle Busch – Charlotte Motor Speedway 2007
In the sweltering chaos of the 2007 All-Star Race, with a cool million bucks on the line, the Busch brothers decided that their family bonds were just adorable suggestions. Inbred Kurt and Kyle turned a simple bumper tap into a full-on demolition derby, spinning each other into oblivion like it was a therapy session gone wrong. What followed was pure NASCAR poetry: months of icy silence and awkward holiday dinners where the stuffed turkey got more conversation than they did.This award goes to the brothers who came out fighting.
Winner: Team Marquez
Given that he was nearly smashed to more pieces in May than the New Glenn rocket, no one was expecting to see Alex Marquez turn up in Brno and have a crack at riding. Sadly, Marquez Lite couldn’t manage the full weekend, but the fact the devil’s brother could even complete a few laps was testimony to his determination and extra-strength Panadol. The Spanish Antichrist has now spent more time in theatre than Sir Laurence Olivier and is probably set for a lifetime of ‘annoying niggles’. But that doesn’t seem to bother him.
Punch-up 4: Nelson Piquet vs Eliseo Salazar at Hockenheim 1982
Whilst leading at Hockenheim, F1 racist racer Nelson Piquet became entangled with his then-close pal Eliseo Salazar. The Brazilian went full apeshit and started kicking Salazar like he was a disobedient house pet. Peak sportsmanship. But the best part was that Nelson’s column of anger was utterly pointless, as he admitted later that he knew his turbo was about to blow anyway.This award goes to the rider who got a pointless kicking.
Winner: Pedro Acosta
Despite being the only KTM rider capable of not being rubbish, poor Pedro was left scurrying back to his burrow with zero points – or the ‘Bradley Smith Haul’ as it’s also known. A crash in the sprint race was totally the stoat’s fault, but in the main race the punched-lasagna-faced Spaniard suffered yet another KTM bike failure. Luckily this time Alex Marquez was around to be almost killed again. A pointless weekend for what was yet another top-effort from Acosta.
