Ducati’s Dilemma: Assessing the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez Clash and Its Impact on Championship Hopes

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

Podcast Discussion: "Is there some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed far enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they have no mathematical chance and should therefore hold back in such scenarios?"

Sunday's disputed late-race collision involving Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez at the Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati riders losing their chance at a podium finish.

This also implied that Bagnaia, the current champion 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 most recent episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, Jordan Moreland, the host, inquired:

The main highlight of the race was the intense duel between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez, appearing to be just a matter of time before he succeeded. Then, an incident occurred.

"What do you think about the situation? It seems to have happened not long ago. Clearly, both cyclists are pointing fingers at each other…"

Crash.net MotoGP editor Pete McLaren commented, "It was a disastrous weekend for Bagnaia, marking his worst performance since the introduction of the Sprint format last year."

“Nearly everything went awry for him, from the two tire problems to qualifying on the less favorable side of the track. To top it all off, there was a collision right when it seemed inevitable that he would secure 3rd place from Alex Marquez."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aiming to possibly stand alongside Marc on the podium during Marc's remarkable return. Understandably, he was reluctant to relinquish his position, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them."

The issue now is, who noticed who first? And who was responsible for giving more space? The Stewards decided no additional action was necessary. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, but 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 a rider involved in a collision to do."

"When two riders on identical bikes are involved in an accident, the manufacturer can access the data for both motorcycles. That's precisely what Ducati would have done. We are aware that they did this following the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed. In an effort to resolve the dispute over who was to blame, Marc casually remarked, 'Ducati can see all the data…'"

"Pecco is now claiming that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this data too? If they had seen what Pecco says was evident in the data, would it have altered their decision? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful aspect would have been a 'visor cam' perspective, like the one we saw from 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 the highest points possible this weekend. The most positive update is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez did not suffer any serious injuries."

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

“I’m going to challenge the data a bit, because whenever data is mentioned, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were confident that their data proved Valentino had kicked Marc and were ready to present it to everyone!” remarked MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"If I had to assign blame, I would place a bit more responsibility on Pecco. We've observed this behavior previously. It happened in Portugal and also to some extent during the Sprint race in Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in a battle."

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

At Jerez, when he found himself caught between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, he should have backed off since he was faster than both of them. There was no need to engage in a battle. The same principle applied in this situation too.

"You noticed that Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was behind Alex when Alex went wide at Turn 12. It's clear he isn't aware of your presence. You recognize that Turn 13 is a tight spot where you shift right, and Alex will almost certainly be there."

"In my opinion, you need to approach the game more strategically, particularly when you're in contention for the championship. I believe Alex should have checked his surroundings and considered that it might be a tight situation, opting to pull back and find another opportunity to counterattack. Similarly, Pecco should have thought, 'There's still time to make a move and achieve the goal.'"

"In each of those instances I've talked about, Pecco has ended up in a worse position and has lost points because of it. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco and advise him to be more strategic when interacting with other riders. They should tell him, 'It's better to secure a 4th place finish than to end up with no points at all.'"

"It seems that Pecco occasionally has difficulty accepting the position available to him. For instance, if you observe Martin in recent weeks, he has consistently accepted second place when that was the best he could achieve. As a result, he is now leading the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded, saying, “Pete, this situation is similar to what happened last season with Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It’s particularly unfortunate right now because Martin is performing consistently and earning points.”

"This brings us to the topic everyone dislikes, which is the issue of team orders," McLaren commented. "It's inevitable to compare Sunday's race with previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to allow more space for the championship contenders."

"There's some uncertainty right now since the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they are mathematically out of the running and should therefore hold back in those situations."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, being leaders in the championship race, they'll be granted more leeway by fellow Ducati riders. However, those teammates are under the impression that, without any official instructions, they're still fully competing for every spot."

"Next, consider what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are just slightly behind the top two but still have a viable opportunity."

Duncan commented, "In my opinion, Ducati should examine this issue for its own benefit. The last thing you want is a repeat incident between Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, which could lead to Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

"We've observed how incredibly toxic the fan base can become in these scenarios, when they believe 'this occurred, sabotage and so forth'."

"Ducati should take the lead and declare: 'These are the contenders for the title. These are the riders who have a chance to win the championship. If you aren't one of them, don't compete aggressively against them.'"

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but it is a worst-case situation for Ducati as Martin is currently leading the championship. Allowing Martin to move to Aprilia while holding the top position is not an option for them."

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

"He seemed quite unhappy. It was as if he saw Pecco crashing, Marc winning races—which initially raised concerns about maintaining balance before they let him join Gresini—and Martin leading the championship."

"They need to consider that they could have had both of those individuals on their team if the situation had been handled differently and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

"There are numerous issues Ducati must address in the coming weeks, and one key aspect is their need to handle the situation more effectively, or they risk facing significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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