Debate Ignites Over Ducati’s Next Move After Bagnaia-Marquez Aragon Clash: Team Orders and Championship Implications

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

Podcast discussion: "Is there some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell other Ducati riders that they are no longer in contention and should therefore hold back in such scenarios?"

In Sunday’s Aragon MotoGP, a contentious incident late in the race between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez resulted in both Ducati riders losing their chances at a podium finish.

This 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 most recent episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, presenter Jordan Moreland inquired:

The main highlight of the race was the intense fight for a podium spot between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez, and it appeared to be only a question of when. Then, an unexpected event occurred.

“What did you think about the situation? It seems to have happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…”

"A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia. This was his poorest performance in an event since the introduction of the Sprint format last year," commented Pete McLaren, MotoGP editor at Crash.net.

"Nearly everything went awry for him, from the two tire problems to qualifying on the less favorable side of the track, and to top it all off, a collision occurred just as it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for third place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and hoping to possibly stand alongside Marc on the podium during his remarkable return. As you might expect, he was determined not to relinquish his position, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them."

"The issue now is, who saw the other first? And who should have made more space? The Stewards decided not to proceed with any action. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, but the specifics are unclear."

"The data aspect caught my attention because, after the decision, Pecco mentioned that the information indicated Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically anticipate in a crash situation."

"When two riders have an accident and they’re both using the same motorcycles, the manufacturer can access the data from both vehicles. Ducati definitely did this. We are aware that they did the same thing after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed into each other. Marc made a casual remark to resolve the dispute about who was responsible 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 information too? If they had reviewed what Pecco mentions is evident in the data, would their decision have been different? 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, to see where each rider was focusing their attention!"

"An event on the track with significant consequences. Pecco benefited because Marc prevented Martin from securing the highest points this weekend. Fortunately, neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained severe injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, "I'll play the role of Devil's advocate for a moment regarding data. Whenever someone mentions data, my mind immediately goes back to Honda in 2015. They were convinced they had data proving Valentino had kicked Marc and were determined to reveal it to everyone!"

"However, if I had to assign blame, I would attribute a larger share to Pecco. This behavior isn't new; we observed it in Portugal and to some extent in the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco seems to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

In Portugal, we observed Marc's actions. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, it was clear he would re-enter. So why would you place your bike in that position? It was inevitable that it would lead to a collision; you need to navigate the corner more skillfully.

At Jerez, he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder. He was faster than both of them, so he should have pulled back and not engaged in the battle. The same principle applied in this situation.

"You observed that Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was behind Alex when he veered off into Turn 12. You noticed he was unaware of your presence. You understand that Turn 13 is a tight spot when you switch to the right. It's very probable that Alex will be there."

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic, particularly if you're competing for the championship. I'd say Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back and try to counter later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still plenty of time. I can make my move later.'"

"In each instance I've highlighted, Pecco has ended up in a worse position and has lost points because of it. I believe Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco about being more strategic when interacting with other riders. They should advise him that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to leaving the race without any points at all."

"Pecco often seems to have difficulty accepting the best result he can achieve. For instance, Martin has recently been content with finishing second, which was the best he could do. As a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded: “Pete, this situation brings to mind last season’s event involving Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It’s particularly unfortunate timing because Martin is performing flawlessly and consistently scoring points."

“This brings us to the topic we all dislike: team orders,” McLaren stated. “It’s hard not to compare Sunday’s race to previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to give the championship challengers some extra space.

"Currently, there's some uncertainty as we're still early in the season. It's too soon to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically eliminated from contention and should therefore yield in certain situations."

“Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, since they are leading the championship, other Ducati riders will give them more space on the track. However, those other riders are likely thinking, ‘We haven’t received any instructions yet, so we’re still competing fiercely for every spot.’”

"Next, we must consider what advice to give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the leading pair but still have a viable opportunity to catch up."

Duncan commented, "In my opinion, Ducati should really examine this situation for its own benefit. You don't want a scenario where Alex Marquez has another collision with Pecco Bagnaia, leading to a situation where Martin gains more points while Marc is leading the race."

"We've observed how toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, particularly when they believe there has been some sort of sabotage, among other things."

"Ducati must take the lead and declare: 'Alright, these are our title contenders. These are the riders capable of winning the championship. If you are not among them, do not compete aggressively against them.'"

"We definitely don't want to witness that scenario. It's a worst-case situation for Ducati, with Martin currently at the top of the championship. They can't afford to let Martin move to Aprilia while holding the number one position."

"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 seem pleased at all. It appeared as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is securing victories—which initially caused concern about disrupting the balance before granting him permission to join Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They need to consider that they could have kept both of those individuals on their team if the circumstances had been handled in another way and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

"Ducati has a lot to consider in the upcoming weeks, and one crucial aspect is improving how they handle the current situation. If they don't, they risk facing significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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