Ducati Dilemma: Should the Factory Intervene in the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez Clash?

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

Podcast: "Is it somewhat unclear because it's still early in the season to tell other Ducati riders, 'you're no longer in contention mathematically, so you should just hold back in that scenario'?"

On Sunday, a disputed incident late in the race at the Aragon MotoGP saw Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez collide, resulting in both Ducati riders missing out on a spot 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.

In the newest episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, Jordan Moreland, the host, posed the question:

"The main highlight of the race was the intense competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia appeared to be on the verge of overtaking Marquez; it seemed inevitable. But then, an unexpected incident 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. He recorded his worst performance at an event since the introduction of the Sprint format last year," stated Pete McLaren, MotoGP editor at Crash.net.

"Nearly everything went awry for him: the two tire problems, starting from the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, a crash when it seemed inevitable that he would secure third place from Alex Marquez."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his home crowd and aiming to possibly stand on the podium alongside Marc during his remarkable return. Naturally, he didn't want to surrender his position, and ultimately, there wasn't enough space for both of them."

"The issue now is determining who spotted whom first, and who was responsible for allowing more space. The Stewards decided not to take any further action. They stated they reviewed some technical data, but the specifics remain unclear."

"The data aspect was intriguing because, after the decision was made, Pecco mentioned that the information indicated Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically anticipate from a rider involved in a crash."

"When two riders have an accident while riding the same type of bike, the manufacturer can access the data for both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati did in this case. We are aware that they took similar steps after the incident in Portimao, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed into each other. Marc made a rather casual comment to address the issue of blame, stating, 'Ducati has access to all the data…'"

"Pecco is now stating that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this information too? Would their decision have been different if they had reviewed the data Pecco mentioned? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful element would have been the 'visor cam' perspective we saw from Alex Rins during the private Misano test, to understand where each rider was focusing their attention!"

A racing mishap occurred that could have significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing the most points this weekend. The most positive outcome is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez did not sustain any severe injuries.

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan stated, "I'm going to challenge the data a bit here. Whenever data is mentioned, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were confident they had evidence that Valentino had kicked Marc and planned to reveal it to everyone!"

"If I had to assign blame, I'd place a bit more on Pecco. This isn't the first time we've witnessed this behavior; it happened in Portugal and to some extent during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

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

“In Jerez, he ended up getting squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder. You’re faster than both of them, so just pull back and don’t engage. It was the same situation this time.”

"Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex went off course at Turn 12. It's clear he isn't aware of your presence. 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 strategize more effectively, particularly when competing for a championship. I believe Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and considered that it was going to be a close situation. He might have opted to pull back and plan a counterattack. Similarly, Pecco should have thought the same way—realizing there was still ample time to make a move.”

"In every instance I've referred to, Pecco has ended up in a worse position and has lost points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco about choosing his battles wisely when interacting with other riders. They should emphasize that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending a race without any points at all."

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

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

McLaren continued, "That brings us to the topic we all dislike: team orders. It's hard not to compare Sunday's race to previous years when other Ducati riders were aware they needed to give the title contenders some extra space."

"There's some uncertainty right now since the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they are mathematically eliminated and should therefore hold back in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin, being the frontrunners in the championship race, assume that other Ducati riders will give them more space on the track. However, those other riders are still under the impression that there have been no team orders and are therefore competing fiercely for every spot."

"The next issue involves what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the leading pair but still have a viable opportunity."

Duncan commented, "I believe Ducati needs to examine this issue for its own benefit. The last thing you want is for Alex Marquez to have another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, which could result in Martin gaining more points while Marc takes the lead."

"We've observed how toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, when they believe 'this happened, sabotage, and so on'."

Ducati should take the initiative and declare: 'These are our contenders for the title. These are the riders who have the potential to win the championship. If you're not among them, don't compete aggressively against them.'

“We don’t want this to happen, but it’s a worst-case scenario for Ducati with Martin at the top of the championship standings. 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, as though burdened by some heavy concern."

"He did not seem content. It was as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is claiming victories—which had been a concern regarding maintaining balance before they permitted him to join Gresini—and Martin is at the forefront of the championship standings."

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

"In my opinion, Ducati has several issues they must address in the coming weeks. One key concern is their need to handle the current situation more effectively, or they risk facing embarrassment by the season's end."

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