Clash at Aragon: Should Ducati Intervene in the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez Fray?

Should Ducati intervene following the incident between Bagnaia and Alex Marquez?

Podcast Discussion: “Is there some uncertainty since we haven't progressed far enough into the season to tell other Ducati riders, 'you're no longer in contention, so back off in that scenario'?"

A disputed collision late in the race on Sunday between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez at the Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati riders losing their chances for a podium finish.

This also resulted in reigning champion Bagnaia, who had come to Spain with a five-point lead in the title race, leaving the country injured and trailing Jorge Martin by 23 points.

In the newest episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, presenter Jordan Moreland inquired:

The main highlight of the race was the intense competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared to be only a matter of time. Then, the unexpected occurred.

“What did you think about it? It seems that it happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at one another…”

“A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia, marking his worst event performance since the Sprint format was introduced last year,” commented Pete McLaren, editor at Crash.net MotoGP.

"Nearly everything fell apart for him: he faced two tire problems, qualified on the less favorable side of the track, and to top it off, he had a collision just when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aiming to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Therefore, he was understandably reluctant to concede, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them."

"The issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who was supposed to leave more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional measures. They mentioned they reviewed certain machine data, but the specifics remain unclear."

"The data aspect was intriguing because when Pecco commented after the decision, he mentioned that the data indicated Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically expect from a rider involved in a collision."

When two riders on the same type of bike are involved in an accident, the manufacturer has access to the data for both. Ducati has done exactly this. They also reviewed the data after the Portimao incident where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed. Marc Marquez even made a casual comment to clarify the blame by saying, 'Ducati has access to all the data…'

"Pecco now claims that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this data as well? If they had seen what Pecco refers to in the data, would it have made a difference? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful feature would have been a 'visor cam' perspective, similar to what we saw from Alex Rins during the private Misano test. This would allow us to see where each rider was focusing their attention!"

"A racing event with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from claiming the maximum points this weekend, and the most positive outcome is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

Moreland asked, "Lewis, what do you think?"

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, "I want to challenge the data discussion a bit, as it reminds me of Honda in 2015. They were confident they had evidence showing Valentino kicking Marc and planned to reveal it to everyone!"

“If I were to assign blame, I would hold Pecco more accountable because this isn't the first time we've seen such behavior from him. We observed it in Portugal and noticed it again during the Sprint race in Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in confrontations.

In Portugal, we observed this situation with Marc. Even if you couldn’t see him from the outside, it was clear he would reenter the track. So, why place your bike in that position? It’s obvious there would be a collision; you should navigate the corner more strategically.

"In Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – you were faster than both of them, so pull back. Don't engage. It was the same situation this time."

"You observed that Alex didn't glance around. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. It's evident that he is unaware of your presence. You recognize that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you make a right turn. It's highly probable that Alex will be in that area."

"In my opinion, you need to approach the game more strategically, particularly if you're in the running for the championship. I believe Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought, 'This is going to be close. I should pull back and look for another opportunity to counterattack.' Similarly, Pecco needed to recognize that he had enough time to make his move effectively."

"In each of the situations I've described, Pecco has ended up in the worst position, losing points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco about being more strategic when interacting with other riders. They should convey that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending up with no points at all."

"Pecco occasionally seems to have difficulty accepting the position available to him. In contrast, Martin has consistently accepted second place when that's been his best option in recent weeks, which has now put him 23 points ahead in the championship standings."

In his response, Moreland said, “Pete, this situation is reminiscent of last season's clash between Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. The timing is unfortunate since Martin is performing flawlessly and consistently scoring points.”

McLaren remarked, “This brings us to the dreaded topic of team orders. It’s hard not to draw comparisons between last Sunday and previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to allow more space for the championship contenders.”

"Currently, there's some uncertainty as we haven't progressed far enough into the season to tell the other Ducati riders that their chances are mathematically over, so they should take a step back in such situations."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that their lead in the championship will result in other Ducati riders giving them more space. However, those riders are still under the impression that they haven't received any instructions and are therefore competing fiercely for every spot."

"Another point to consider is what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the leading duo, yet still have a viable shot at success."

Duncan commented, "In my opinion, Ducati should consider this matter for its benefit. The last thing they need is for Alex Marquez to collide with Pecco Bagnaia again, which might result in Martin gaining more points as Marc leads the race.”

"We've observed the fan base becoming quite toxic in those scenarios, believing things like 'this happened due to sabotage' and so forth."

"Ducati should take the lead and declare: ‘These are our contenders for the title. These are the racers who can win the championship. If you're not among them, don't compete aggressively against them.’"

"We definitely don't want to witness that scenario; it's a worst-case situation for Ducati with Martin at the top of the championship. Allowing Martin to transfer to Aprilia while holding the number one position is not something they can afford to let happen."

"I found it intriguing to observe Gigi Dall’Igna's reaction after Marc finished the race. He appeared quite… distressed. It seemed like something was heavily on his mind."

"He did not appear to be a content man. It seemed as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is securing victories – which had initially concerned them about disturbing the balance before permitting him to join Gresini – and Martin is at the forefront of the championship standings."

"They need to consider that they could have retained both individuals in their team if the circumstances had been handled differently and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

"Ducati has several issues to address in the coming weeks, and among them is improving their management of the current situation. If they don't, they risk facing significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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