Ducati’s Dilemma: Assessing Team Orders and Rider Discipline After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash

Is Ducati required to intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez clash?

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 stay out of such situations'?"

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

As a result, reigning champion Bagnaia, who came to Spain with a five-point lead in the title race, departed 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 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; it appeared to be only a matter of time. Then, the unexpected occurred.”

“How did you perceive the situation? It seems to have happened not too long ago. Clearly, every rider is pointing fingers at the others…”

"A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia. This is his worst performance in an event since the Sprint format was introduced last year," stated Pete McLaren, the MotoGP editor for Crash.net.

“Almost everything went awry for him: 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 overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place.”

“Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aiming to possibly stand alongside Marc on the podium for his remarkable return. Naturally, he was reluctant to surrender his position, and ultimately, there simply wasn't sufficient space for both of them.”

The issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who was responsible for creating more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional measures. They mentioned they reviewed some data from the machines, though the specifics are unclear.

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

"When an incident occurs between two riders on identical bikes, the manufacturer can access the data for both. That’s precisely what Ducati would have done. We know they did something similar after the Portimao incident, when Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed into each other. Marc defused the blame game by casually mentioning, ‘Ducati has 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 seen what Pecco mentions was evident in the data, would it have made a difference? It's hard to say."

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

"A racing event with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing full points this weekend, and the most positive update is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez escaped without major injuries."

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

“I'll take a contrarian stance regarding data. Whenever data is mentioned, I immediately recall the 2015 incident with Honda. They were firm in their belief, backed by data, that Valentino had kicked Marc, and they intended to present this proof to everyone,” remarked MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"If I were to assign blame, I would place slightly more on Pecco because we've witnessed similar situations before. We observed it in Portugal and again during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

In Portugal, we observed this with Marc. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, you knew he was going to re-enter the race. So the question is, why would you position your bike there? It's clear that would lead to a collision; you need to navigate the corner more strategically.

At Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, it was clear he was faster than both of them. He should have pulled back and avoided the confrontation. The same situation applied here.

“You observed that Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when he veered off the track at Turn 12. It’s clear he’s unaware of your presence. You’re aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot when you make the right turn. It’s highly probable that Alex will be there.”

"You need to be more strategic, especially if you're in the running for the championship. In my opinion, Alex should have checked his position and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll hold back now and try to regain the lead later.' Pecco should have taken a similar approach, thinking, 'There's still time to make my move.'"

"In every instance I've brought up, Pecco has ended up in the worst position and has lost points because of it. I believe Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco about choosing his battles wisely when interacting with other riders. They should convey that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending the race without any points."

"Pecco seems to occasionally have difficulty accepting the best possible outcome available. In contrast, Martin has been content with finishing in second place over the past few weeks when that was the best he could achieve. As a result, he is now leading 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 because Martin is currently performing well without errors and accumulating points."

McLaren continued, "This brings us to the topic we all despise: team orders. It's hard not to draw comparisons between Sunday and previous years, when other Ducati riders understood they needed to allow more space for the championship contenders."

"Currently, there's some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're out of the running, so they should back off in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that their lead in the championship will result in other Ducati riders giving them more space on the track. However, those same riders are likely thinking, 'We haven't received any instructions to ease off; we're still pushing hard for every spot.'"

The next question is what advice would you give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the top two but still have a viable shot at winning?

Duncan commented, "I believe Ducati should consider this for their benefit. The last thing they need is another collision between Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, which could lead to Martin gaining more points while Marc is leading the race."

"We have observed how toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, especially when they believe that sabotage or similar events have occurred."

"Ducati must take the lead and declare: 'These are our contenders for the title. These are the riders who have a chance to win the championship. If you are not among them, do not compete aggressively against them.'"

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but it's a worst-case situation for Ducati with Martin at the top of the standings. They can't afford to let Martin move to Aprilia while holding the championship title."

"It was intriguing to observe Gigi Dall’Igna's reaction after Marc finished the race. He appeared quite… distressed. There seemed to be something heavy on his mind."

"He did not seem content at all. It was as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is victorious in races—which initially caused them some concern about maintaining balance before letting him join Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They must consider the possibility that, with better management and Marc's willingness to join Pramac, they could have retained both riders."

"Ducati has quite a bit to consider over the upcoming weeks, and one key issue is their need to handle the situation more effectively, or they might face embarrassment by the end of the season."

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