Ducati’s Dilemma: Managing Team Orders and Championship Hopes After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash

Should Ducati intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez incident?

Podcast discussion: "Is there some uncertainty because the season isn't advanced enough to tell other Ducati riders, 'you're no longer in contention, so back off in such situations'?"

During Sunday's Aragon MotoGP, a contentious incident in the closing stages of the race involving Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez resulted in both Ducati racers being eliminated from contention for the final podium position.

This also implied that the defending 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 most recent episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, Jordan Moreland, the host, posed the question:

The highlight of the race was the intense duel between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez, and it appeared to be only a matter of time before he succeeded. However, an unexpected incident then occurred.

“What’s your perspective? It seems like this happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at one another…”

“A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia. He achieved his worst points total since the Sprint format was introduced last year,” commented Pete McLaren, editor at Crash.net MotoGP.

Nearly everything fell apart for him: the two tire problems, starting from the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, a collision occurred just when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place.

“It was clear that Alex, competing in front of his home crowd, was eager to potentially share the podium with Marc in his remarkable return. Understandably, he was unwilling to back down, and ultimately, there just wasn’t enough space for both of them.”

"The issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who was responsible for making space? The Stewards decided not to take any action. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, but the specifics remain unclear."

"The data aspect was intriguing because, after the decision, Pecco mentioned that the data indicated Alex possibly didn't slow down as much as one might anticipate from a rider involved in a crash."

"When two riders have an accident and they're using the same bikes, the manufacturer can access the data for both. Ducati has definitely done this. They also did it following the Portimao crash, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia collided. Marc downplayed the blame game by 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 reviewed the data Pecco mentions, would their decision have been different? It's unclear."

"Another helpful feature would have been the 'visor cam' perspective we saw from Alex Rins during the private Misano test, which shows where each rider is looking!"

"A racing event with significant consequences occurred. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing the highest points this weekend. The most positive update is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

“What’s your opinion on it, Lewis?” Moreland asked.

“I'll play devil's advocate regarding data, as it reminds me of Honda in 2015. They were convinced they had proof showing Valentino had kicked Marc and were eager to present it,” remarked MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

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

“We witnessed a similar situation with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn’t see him from the outside, you knew he would re-enter the track, so why position your bike there? It was inevitable that there would be a collision; you should have navigated the corner more skillfully.”

During the race in Jerez, he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder. Since he was faster than both of them, he should have pulled back instead of engaging. The same advice applies to this situation.

"You noticed Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. It's clear he isn't aware of your presence. You are aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when making a right turn. And it's very likely that Alex will be there."

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic, particularly when you're vying for the championship. I believe Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back and try to make a move later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered that there was still enough time to make a successful attempt."

“In every instance I’ve referred to, Pecco has ended up suffering the most and has lost points because of it. In my opinion, Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco about being more strategic when interacting with other riders. It’s better to secure a 4th place finish than to end up without any points at all.”

“In my view, Pecco occasionally has difficulty accepting the position he can realistically achieve. For instance, Martin has consistently accepted second place in recent weeks when it's been available, and as a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points.”

Moreland responded by saying, "Pete, this situation is reminiscent of last year's clash between Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's unfortunate timing since Martin is consistently performing well and accumulating points."

McLaren addressed the topic everyone dislikes, the issue of team orders. He pointed out that it's hard not to compare Sunday's race with previous years, when other Ducati riders understood they needed to give the title contenders some extra space.

"Currently, there is some uncertainty 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 believe that, since they are leading in the championship, the other Ducati racers will give them extra space. However, the other riders are likely thinking, 'We haven't received any instructions, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

The next issue to consider is what advice to offer Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the leading pair yet still possess a genuine opportunity.

Duncan commented, "I believe Ducati should review this situation for its own benefit. The last thing they need is for Alex Marquez to clash with Pecco Bagnaia again, leading to Martin gaining more points while Marc takes the lead."

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

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

"We're hoping to avoid this scenario, but it's a worst-case situation for Ducati with Martin currently at the top of the championship. They can't afford to let Martin move to Aprilia while holding the number one spot."

"I found it intriguing to observe Gigi Dall’Igna's reaction after Marc finished the race. He appeared quite… distressed. It seemed like he had a heavy burden on his mind."

"He did not seem content. It appeared as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco is out of the race, Marc is securing victories—which had initially caused concern about disrupting the balance before they permitted him to join Gresini—and Martin is at the forefront of the championship standings."

"They must consider that they could have retained both individuals if the circumstances had been handled differently and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

In the coming weeks, Ducati has several issues to address, and one of the most crucial is improving their management of the current situation. Failure to do so could result in significant embarrassment by the end of the season.

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