### Ducati’s Dilemma: Navigating Team Orders and Intra-Squad Clashes After Bagnaia-Marquez Collision

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

Discussion: "Is the situation unclear because the season is still early and it's not yet possible to tell other Ducati riders that they are out of the running and should therefore back off in such scenarios?"

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

This situation also led to reigning champion Bagnaia, who had come to Spain with a five-point lead in the standings, leaving the country injured and trailing Jorge Martin by 23 points.

In the newest episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, Jordan Moreland, the host, inquired:

The main highlight of the race was Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez competing fiercely for a spot on the podium. At one point, it seemed inevitable that Bagnaia would overtake Marquez. However, a crucial incident then occurred.

“What did you think about the situation? It seems to have happened not too long ago. Clearly, every rider is holding the other responsible…”

"A dreadful weekend for Bagnaia. It's his worst performance since the introduction of the Sprint format last year," commented Pete McLaren, editor of Crash.net MotoGP.

"Virtually everything turned against him: two tire problems, starting from the dusty part of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, a crash just when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his home crowd and aimed to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. As you might expect, he was reluctant to yield, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them."

"The issue now is: who noticed whom first? And who was responsible for creating more space? The Stewards decided to take no additional measures. They mentioned examining some technical data, though the specifics are unclear."

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

"When two riders get into an accident while riding the same type of bikes, the manufacturer can review the data from both. This is precisely what Ducati did. We are aware that they conducted a similar review after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia collided. Marc casually put an end to the debate over who was responsible by stating, ‘Ducati can see all the data…’"

"Pecco claims that the data exonerates him from any fault. We have to wonder if the Stewards reviewed that same information. If they had, would their decision have been different? It's uncertain."

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

"A significant event on the track with major consequences. Pecco benefited from Marc preventing Martin from earning the most points this weekend, and fortunately, both Pecco and Alex Marquez escaped without serious injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, "I'll play the role of Devil's advocate regarding data. Whenever data is mentioned, I immediately recall Honda in 2015, when they were confident they had evidence showing Valentino kicking Marc and planned to reveal it to the public!"

"If I were to assign responsibility, I would place a bit more on Pecco because we've observed similar behavior from him before. It happened in Portugal and again during the Sprint race in Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We observed a similar situation with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, it was clear he would re-enter the track. So, why position your bike there? It's inevitable that there will be a collision; handle the corner more skillfully."

During the Jerez race, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, it was clear he was faster than both of them. The advice was to pull back and not engage in a battle. The same strategy applied to this situation.

"Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was following Alex when Alex went off course at Turn 12. He was unaware of your presence. You understand Turn 13 is a tight spot where you switch to the right, and Alex is probably going to be in that area."

In my opinion, as a championship contender, you need to be more strategic in your gameplay. Alex should have checked his rear view and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back and then try to make a comeback.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still enough time. I can accomplish this later.'

"In every situation I've referred to, Pecco has ended up at a disadvantage and 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. Sometimes, securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending up with no points at all."

"Pecco occasionally seems to have difficulty accepting the best position available. In contrast, if you observe Martin in recent weeks, he has consistently secured second place when it was achievable. This strategy has put him 23 points ahead in the championship standings."

Moreland responded by saying, "Pete, this event is reminiscent of the situation last season involving Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's particularly unfortunate timing because Martin is performing flawlessly and accumulating points."

McLaren continued, "This brings up the dreaded topic of team orders. It's hard not to compare Sunday's race with previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to give the championship contenders some extra space."

"There's some uncertainty right now because it's too early in the season to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically out of contention and should therefore step aside in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, as frontrunners in the championship, their fellow Ducati riders will allow them more space on the track. However, those teammates are still under the impression that they haven't received any specific instructions and are continuing to compete aggressively for every spot."

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

Duncan commented: "I believe Ducati should consider this for its benefit. The last thing you want is for Alex Marquez to have another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, which could result in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

"We've observed how the fan base can become very toxic in such scenarios, especially when they believe there's been some kind of sabotage or similar issues."

“Ducati must take the lead and declare: ‘These are our contenders for the title. These are the riders capable of winning 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 currently at the top of the championship. Allowing Martin to switch to Aprilia while holding the number one title is something they can't permit."

"I found it intriguing to observe Gigi Dall’Igna’s reaction after Marc finished the race. He appeared quite… distressed. It seemed as though something was heavily on his mind."

"He did not seem pleased at all. It was as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is out of the race, Marc is securing victories – something that initially concerned them about disrupting the balance before permitting him to join Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They need to consider that, with better management and Marc's willingness to join Pramac, they could have had both of those individuals in their team."

"Ducati has several issues to address in the coming weeks, and importantly, they must handle the situation more effectively, or they risk facing significant embarrassment by the season's end."

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