Gresini Honda's Alvaro Bautista is certain he will never repeat the mistake which led to him wiping out MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in the Dutch TT.
Speaking ahead of the German Grand Prix, Bautista again apologized for the incident, saying both Lorenzo and the team "deserved better." He also said the crash spoiled what could have been a "great race", and said he was determined to make amends at the Sachsenring even though an "excessive penalty" means he will start from the back of the grid.
"I was really unhappy with the crash in the first turn at Assen because we had done a great job in practice and I think we had the setting to have a great race," Bautista said. "I made a mistake in calculating my braking marker – I braked so hard trying not to hit anybody that I lost the front and ended up taking another rider with me anyway. It is the first time this has happened to me and I was sorry that another rider was also involved and unable to finish the race, losing important championship points.
"Luckily there were no serious consequences in terms of injuries and I am certain of one thing: it won't happen again. I am sorry for the team, who always give 100 percent and more and they deserved better, but unfortunately this is all part of life."
Bautista added that his grid penalty means scoring as many points as possible is the only target in Germany.
"At Sachsenring we'll be starting from the back of the grid and as I have already said I think it is an excessive penalty for a racing incident and whilst I accept it I do so reluctantly," he explained. "Our objective has to be to continue working in the same way as up to now and try to pick up as many points as we can in the race."