Controversy in Aragon: Should Ducati Intervene After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash?

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

Podcast discussion: "Is there some uncertainty because the season isn't advanced enough to tell other Ducati riders that they are out of championship contention and should therefore back off in such situations?"

A contentious incident during the final laps of the Aragon MotoGP on Sunday between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez resulted in both Ducati riders being eliminated from podium contention.

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

In the most recent episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, Jordan Moreland, the host, inquired:

The main highlight of the race was the intense fight for the podium between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared inevitable. But then, an unexpected incident occurred.

“What’s your opinion on the matter? It seems to have happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…”

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

"Almost nothing went right for him: he faced two tire problems, had to start the race from the less favorable side of the track, and to top it all off, he collided when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for third place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aiming to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Consequently, you can understand that he was reluctant to back down, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them."

The issue now is, who spotted whom first? And who should have made space? The Stewards decided not to take any further measures. They mentioned examining some technical data, but the specifics are unclear.

"The data aspect was intriguing because, after the decision, Pecco mentioned that the data indicated Alex may not have slowed down as much as one would anticipate in a crash situation."

"When two riders have an accident while riding identical bikes, the manufacturer can review the data for each of them. This is precisely what Ducati did. It’s known that they also analyzed the data after the incident at Portimao, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed. Marquez tried to end the debate over who was responsible by mentioning that Ducati has access to all the data."

"Pecco claims the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards review this information too? If they had, would it have influenced their decision? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful aspect would have been having a ‘visor cam’ perspective, similar to what we saw from Alex Rins during the private Misano test, to see where each rider's focus was!"

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

"What do you think about it, Lewis?" Moreland asked.

“I’m going to take a contrarian stance regarding data, as it reminds me of Honda's situation in 2015. They were confident that their data proved Valentino had kicked Marc and were prepared to present it publicly,” remarked MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"However, if I were to assign blame, I would place slightly more on Pecco. We've observed similar behavior from him previously. It happened in Portugal and was somewhat evident at Jerez during the Sprint race. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in conflicts."

"We observed a similar situation with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, it was clear he would return to the inside. So, why position your bike there? It's obvious that would lead to a collision; you should navigate the corner more skillfully."

In Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, he should have realized he was faster than both and pulled back rather than engaging in a fight. The same situation applied here.

“You noticed that Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. You saw that he was unaware of your presence. You’re aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot when you switch right. And it’s very likely Alex will be there.

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic, particularly when you're in contention for the championship. Alex could have checked behind him and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back and look for another opportunity to overtake.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still time. I can make my move later.'"

“In all the instances I've talked about, Pecco has ended up in a bad position and lost points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco and advise him to choose his confrontations with other riders more wisely. Finishing in 4th place is preferable to not scoring any points at all.”

"Pecco occasionally seems to have difficulty accepting the position that's available to him. Take Martin, for instance; in recent weeks, he's consistently accepted second place when it's been achievable. As a result, he now has a 23-point lead in the championship."

Moreland responded by saying, "Pete, this situation is similar to what happened last season with Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's unfortunate timing since Martin is currently performing flawlessly and earning valuable points."

"And this brings us to the topic we all dislike: team orders," McLaren stated. "It's hard not to draw comparisons between Sunday's race and previous years when other Ducati racers were aware they needed to give the championship contenders a little extra space."

"There's some uncertainty right now since the season isn't advanced enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically out of the running and should therefore hold back in such situations."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, due to their lead in the championship, the other Ducati racers will give them more space on the track. However, those racers are actually thinking, 'We haven't received any instructions yet, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

"Another issue to consider is what advice to give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the leading pair but still have a viable shot at catching up."

Duncan commented, "In my opinion, Ducati should reassess this situation for its benefit. The last thing they need is another clash between Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, which could lead to Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

"We've observed how toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, suspecting sabotage or other foul play."

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

"We definitely don't want that to happen. It's a worst-case scenario for Ducati with Martin currently leading the championship. They can't afford to let Martin switch to Aprilia while holding the top position."

"I found it intriguing to observe Gigi Dall’Igna's reaction after Marc finished the race. He appeared quite… concerned. He seemed burdened by something."

“That individual did not seem pleased. It appeared as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is securing victories – which was a concern about disturbing the balance before permitting him to join Gresini initially – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings.

"They must consider that, with different management and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac, we could have had both of those riders on our team."

In my opinion, Ducati has several issues to address in the coming weeks. One critical aspect is improving their handling of the situation to avoid potential embarrassment by the end of the season.

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