Ducati in Crisis: Should Team Orders Be Enforced After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash?

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, 'you're no longer in contention, so stand down in such scenarios'?"

On Sunday, a contentious incident towards the end of the race at the Aragon MotoGP involving Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez resulted in both Ducati riders losing their spots on the final podium.

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

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

"The race's highlight was the fierce competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared to be inevitable. But then, an unexpected incident occurred."

"What did you think about the situation? It appears to have happened recently. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…"

“A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia. This is the least amount of points he has earned at an event since the Sprint format was introduced last year,” stated Pete McLaren, editor at Crash.net MotoGP.

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

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

The issue now is, who noticed the other first? And who was responsible for making more space? The Stewards decided not to take any further steps. They mentioned reviewing certain machine data, though the specifics are unclear.

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

"When an incident happens involving two riders on identical bikes, the manufacturer has access to the data for both riders. This is exactly what Ducati would have done. We are aware that they took similar steps after the Portimao clash between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia. Marc tried to defuse the situation by casually stating, 'Ducati has access to all the data…'"

"Pecco is now claiming that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this information too? If they had, would it have influenced 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!"

"A racing incident occurred with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing the maximum points this weekend. Additionally, the best news is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez escaped without serious injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan commented, "I'll play Devil's advocate regarding data, because whenever data is mentioned, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were confident they had evidence proving that Valentino kicked Marc and planned to reveal it to everyone!"

"If I were to assign blame, I would place a bit more on Pecco because this isn't the first time we've seen this behavior. It happened in Portugal and was evident again during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We witnessed it in Portugal with Marc. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, it was evident he would return to the track. So, why position your bike there? You know it will result in a collision; navigate the corner more wisely."

At Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – you were faster than both of them, so pull back. Avoid engaging. The same advice applies here.

"You noticed that Alex wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. It's clear that Alex is unaware of your presence. You understand that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you switch to the right. It's highly probable that Alex will be in that area."

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic when you're competing for the championship. I believe Alex should have checked behind him 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 achieve this later.’"

"Every time Pecco has been involved in those situations, he has ended up on the losing side and lost valuable points. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco about choosing his battles wisely when racing against others. They need to stress that finishing in 4th place is preferable to not scoring any points at all."

“There are times when Pecco seems to have difficulty accepting the results available to him. In contrast, look at Martin over the past few weeks—he's consistently taken second place when that’s what’s achievable. As a result, he’s now leading the championship by 23 points.”

Moreland responded, saying, "Pete, this situation is similar to what happened last season at Le Mans with Bagnaia and Vinales. It's also unfortunate timing because Martin is performing flawlessly and consistently scoring points."

McLaren addressed the uncomfortable topic of team orders, noting that it's a question everyone dislikes. He pointed out that Sunday's race inevitably draws comparisons to previous years when other Ducati riders were aware that they needed to provide more space for the championship contenders.

“At this point in the season, there’s some uncertainty. We haven’t progressed far enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they’re no longer in contention and should therefore hold back in such scenarios.”

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that their leading positions in the championship will result in other Ducati racers giving them more space. However, those racers are under the impression that, since no specific instructions have been issued, they should continue to compete fiercely for every spot."

"Next, we must consider what advice to give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the leading pair yet still possess a feasible opportunity."

Duncan commented, "I believe Ducati should consider this issue for its benefit. The last thing they need is for Alex Marquez to clash with Pecco Bagnaia again, leading to a situation where Martin gains more points while Marc is leading the race."

"We've observed how the fan base can become quite toxic in these scenarios, when they believe that something like sabotage has occurred and start spreading such claims."

"Ducati must take the lead and declare: 'These are the contenders for the title. These are the riders who can compete for the championship. If you're not among them, don't push them too hard.'"

"We dread the prospect, but for Ducati, the worst-case scenario is Martin leading the championship. It would be a disaster if Martin, as the top rider, switched to Aprilia."

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

"He seemed quite unhappy. It was as if he saw Pecco in the gravel, Marc winning races—which initially worried them about disrupting the balance before letting him join Gresini—and Martin leading the championship."

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

A lot of issues need to be addressed by Ducati in the upcoming weeks, and significantly, they must handle the current circumstances more effectively to avoid potential embarrassment by the season's end.

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