**”Ducati Dynamics: Re-evaluating Team Strategy After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash at Aragon MotoGP”**

Should Ducati take action following the incident between Bagnaia and Alex Marquez?

Podcast Discussion: "Is the situation unclear because the season is still early, making it difficult to tell other Ducati riders that they are no longer in contention and should therefore hold back in similar situations?"

The contentious incident between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the late stages of Sunday’s Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati racers losing their chance at a podium finish.

Additionally, it implied that reigning champion Bagnaia, who had come to Spain with a five-point lead in the championship, 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, posed the question:

The race's highlight was the intense duel between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared inevitable. However, an incident changed everything.

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

“A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia. It's his worst performance in an event since the Sprint format was introduced last year,” responded Pete McLaren, the editor of Crash.net MotoGP.

“Almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong for him: two tire problems, starting from the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, a collision right 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 stand alongside Marc on the podium during his remarkable return. Therefore, you can understand he was reluctant to surrender his position, and ultimately, there just wasn't sufficient space for both of them."

"The issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who was supposed to yield more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional measures. They mentioned reviewing some data from the machines, though the specifics remain unclear."

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

"When two riders from the same team have an accident, the manufacturer has access to the data from both bikes. Ducati did exactly that. We’re aware they did this after the incident in Portimao, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed and Marc made a brief comment to end the blame game, saying, ‘Ducati has all the data…’"

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

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

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

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan stated, "I'll play the role of Devil's advocate regarding data for a moment. Whenever data is mentioned, I can't help but recall Honda in 2015. They were confident they had data proving Valentino had kicked Marc and were prepared to present it to the public!"

"If I had to assign blame, I would place a bit more on Pecco because we've observed similar behavior from him before. This was evident in Portugal and slightly noticeable during the Sprint race in Jerez. It appears that Pecco struggles to choose his battles wisely."

"We witnessed a similar situation with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, it was clear he was going to re-enter the track. So why position your bike there? It's inevitable that this will lead to a collision. Handle the corner more strategically."

In Jerez, he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder. The advice was that since he was faster than both, he should just pull back and not engage in the battle. The same principle applied to this situation.

"You observed that Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was positioned behind Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. It's evident he was unaware of your presence. You are aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you shift right. It's highly probable that Alex will be in that spot."

"In my opinion, you need to strategize more effectively, particularly when you're contending for the championship. I believe Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll ease off and try to make a comeback later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still time. I can achieve it.'"

"In all the instances I've referred to, Pecco has ended up at a disadvantage and has lost points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco and advise him to choose his battles wisely when interacting with other riders. They could suggest that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending a race with no points at all."

"There are times when Pecco seems to have difficulty accepting the position he can achieve. Take Martin as an example; in recent weeks, he has consistently taken second place when that was his best option. 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 currently performing flawlessly and accumulating points.”

"And this brings us to the topic everyone dislikes: team orders," McLaren stated. "It's inevitable to draw comparisons between Sunday and previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to give more space to those competing for the championship."

"Currently, there's some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed far enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they have no mathematical chance, so they should simply hold back in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, since they are leading in the championship, other Ducati riders will give them more space. However, those other riders are actually thinking, 'We haven't received any instructions yet, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

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

Duncan mentioned, “In my opinion, Ducati should consider reviewing this situation for their own benefit. The last thing they need is for Alex Marquez to have another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, leading to Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race.”

"We've observed how toxic the fanbase can become in such scenarios, when they believe 'this occurred, sabotage, etc.'"

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

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but it's a disastrous situation for Ducati with Martin currently leading the championship. Allowing Martin to move to Aprilia while holding the number one spot is something they can't afford to let happen."

After Marc finished the race, I noticed Gigi Dall’Igna appeared quite uneasy. He seemed burdened by something.

"He didn't seem pleased at all. It was like he saw the situation and thought: Pecco's crashed, Marc is securing victories—which they were initially concerned about as it could disrupt the balance before letting him join Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They must be considering that they could have kept both riders on their team if the circumstances had been handled better and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

"Ducati has a lot to consider in the upcoming weeks, and one key aspect is improving their management of the current situation, or they risk facing significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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