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

Should Ducati intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez clash?

Discussion: "Is the uncertainty due to the fact that we're still early in the season and can't yet tell other Ducati riders to back off because they aren't mathematically eliminated from contention?"

Sunday's contentious incident near the end of the race between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez at the Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati riders losing their spots on the podium.

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

During the most recent episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, Jordan Moreland, the host, posed the following question:

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, and it felt inevitable. But then, an unexpected event occurred.

“What did you think about the situation? I believe it happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are holding each other responsible…”

"MotoGP editor at Crash.net, Pete McLaren, commented that it was a disastrous weekend for Bagnaia, marking his worst performance since the introduction of the Sprint format last year."

Nearly everything went awry for him: he faced two tire problems, he qualified on the less favorable side of the track, and to top it all off, he got into a collision when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place.

Clearly, Alex was competing before his local supporters and aiming to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Therefore, you can understand that he was reluctant to relinquish his position, and ultimately, there simply wasn't sufficient space for both of them.

"The issue now is, who spotted whom? And who ought to have allowed more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional measures. They mentioned reviewing some machine data, but the specifics are unclear."

"But the information was intriguing because when Pecco later discussed the decision, he stated that the data indicated Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically expect from a rider involved in a crash."

"When a crash happens between two riders using the same type of motorcycles, the manufacturer can access the data for each bike. Ducati has definitely done this. They did the same thing after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia were involved in a collision. Marc made a brief comment to address the issue of blame, saying, 'Ducati can review all the data…'"

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

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

"A racing event occurred with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing the highest points this weekend. The most positive update is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

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

"I'll take the opposing view regarding data. Whenever data is mentioned, I can't help but recall Honda in 2015. They were convinced they had data proving that Valentino had kicked Marc and were ready to reveal it to everyone," remarked MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

“If blame were to be assigned, I’d place a bit more on Pecco. This isn’t the first time we’ve observed this behavior; it was evident in Portugal and somewhat during the Sprint race in Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles.”

In Portugal, we observed Marc's actions. Even if he wasn't visible to you, it was clear he would return to the track, so why place your bike in that spot? You should anticipate the contact and navigate the corner more strategically.

In Jerez, he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder. Since he was faster than both of them, he should have pulled back and not engaged in the battle. The same situation occurred this time.

"You’ve noticed Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off track at Turn 12. It’s clear he’s unaware of your presence. You’re aware that Turn 13, where you make a sharp right, is a tight spot. It’s highly probable Alex will be there."

"I believe you need to be more strategic, especially if you're competing for a championship. In my opinion, Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back for now and try to regain my position later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered that there was still plenty of time to make a move successfully."

"In each of the instances I referred to, Pecco has ended up in a worse position and has lost points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco about being more selective in his confrontations with other riders. They should tell him, 'It's better to finish in 4th place than to end up with no points at all.'"

"Pecco seems to occasionally have difficulty accepting the position available to him. In contrast, Martin has recently been content with finishing in second place when that's what was achievable, and as a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded by saying, “Pete, this situation is similar to what happened last season with Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's also unfortunate timing since Martin is performing consistently and accumulating points without errors."

McLaren addressed the issue we all dislike: team orders. He pointed out that it's hard not to compare Sunday's race with previous years when other Ducati riders were aware they needed to give the championship contenders some extra space.

"Currently, there's some uncertainty since the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically out of contention and should therefore hold back in such situations."

"Possibly, Pecco and Martin believe that, being frontrunners in the championship, they'll receive more leeway from other Ducati riders. However, those riders are in fact thinking, 'We haven't received any instructions, so we're still fiercely competing for every spot.'"

"Another point to consider is what advice you would give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are just behind the leading pair but still have a viable shot at success."

Duncan mentioned that Ducati should consider reviewing the situation for its own benefit. He expressed concern over the possibility of Alex Marquez having another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, which could lead to Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race.

"We've witnessed how toxic the fan community can become in those scenarios, when they start believing things like 'this occurred, sabotage, and so on'."

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

"We're hoping to avoid that scenario, but it's a dire situation for Ducati with Martin at the top of the championship. They can't afford to let Martin leave for Aprilia while holding the number one spot."

"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 seemed quite unhappy. It was as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is securing victories – something they were initially concerned about disrupting the balance before agreeing to let him join Gresini – and Martin is ahead in the championship."

"They need to consider that they could have had both of those riders with them if the circumstances had been handled better and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

"Ducati has much to consider in the coming weeks, and one crucial aspect is improving how they handle the current situation to avoid potential embarrassment by the end of the season."

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