**”Ducati’s Dilemma: Should Team Orders Be Enforced After Bagnaia-Marquez Aragon Clash?”**

Should Ducati intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez episode?

Podcast: "Is there some uncertainty since we're still early in the season to tell other Ducati riders, 'you're statistically out of contention, so back off in such situations'?"

The contentious collision between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the final laps of the Aragon MotoGP on Sunday caused both Ducati racers to lose their chance at securing a spot on the podium.

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

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

The major highlight of the race was the intense competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a spot on the podium. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared inevitable. Then, the unexpected occurred.

“What are your thoughts on the situation? It seems like it happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…”

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

"Nearly everything went awry for him. He faced two tire problems, started on the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, he collided when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for third place."

"Alex was clearly eager to perform well in front of his home crowd, aiming to share the podium with Marc, who was making a notable return. As you can guess, he was reluctant to back down, 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 space? The Stewards decided not to take any further steps. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, but the specifics remain unclear."

"But the data aspect was compelling, as Pecco later mentioned following the decision that the data indicated Alex perhaps didn't slow down as much as one would anticipate in a collision scenario."

"When two riders involved in a crash are using the same motorcycles, the manufacturer can access and analyze data from both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have done. We are aware that they conducted a similar analysis after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia collided. Marc defused the debate over who was to blame by casually remarking, ‘Ducati has access to all the data…’"

"Pecco now claims that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this information too? Would their decision have been different if they had reviewed the data that Pecco references? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful feature could have been a 'visor cam' perspective, similar to what we saw from Alex Rins during the private Misano test, to see where each rider's focus was directed!"

"A racing incident occurred with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from earning the maximum points this weekend. The most positive aspect is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

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

“I’m going to challenge the idea with some data,” said MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan. “Whenever someone mentions data, it reminds me of Honda in 2015. They were convinced they had evidence showing Valentino had kicked Marc and were ready to present it to everyone!”

"If I were to assign blame, I would attribute a bit more of it to Pecco. We've witnessed this behavior previously. It was evident in Portugal and somewhat noticeable during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with knowing when to choose his battles."

"We observed a similar situation in Portugal with Marc. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, you knew he would re-enter, so why place your bike in that spot? You should anticipate the contact and navigate the corner more skillfully."

At Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, he was actually faster than both of them. He should have just pulled back instead of engaging. The same situation occurred this time as well.

It’s evident that Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when they veered off course at Turn 12. It’s clear that he was unaware of your presence. You are aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot, particularly when making a right turn. And it’s highly probable that Alex will be there.

In my opinion, it's important to be more strategic, particularly when you're competing for a championship. I believe Alex should have checked his surroundings and considered saying to himself, ‘This is going to be close. I'll pull back now and look for another opportunity to make a move’. Similarly, Pecco could have thought, ‘There's still time left. I can achieve my goal later’.

"Each time this has happened, Pecco has ended up in a worse position and lost points. I believe Ducati needs to have a conversation with Pecco to discuss choosing his battles wisely when interacting with other riders. They should emphasize that finishing in 4th place is preferable to not scoring any points at all."

"In my opinion, Pecco occasionally has a hard time accepting the results available to him. If you consider Martin's performance in recent weeks, he has consistently taken second place when it was achievable. This strategy has now put him 23 points ahead in the championship standings."

Moreland responded, saying, "Pete, this situation is reminiscent of last season's event involving Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's particularly unfortunate timing since Martin has been performing flawlessly and consistently earning points."

McLaren mentioned, “This brings us to the topic everyone dislikes: team orders. It's hard not to look at Sunday and think about how, in previous years, other Ducati riders had to give the championship contenders some extra space.”

"Is there some uncertainty currently because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically eliminated, so they should just step aside in that scenario?"

"Pecco and Martin, who are leading the championship race, might assume that other Ducati riders will give them more space. However, those riders are still competing fiercely for every spot, as they haven't received any instructions to do otherwise."

"Another aspect to consider is what advice you would give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are trailing the top two but still have a viable opportunity."

Duncan stated: "In my opinion, Ducati needs to review this for its own benefit. The last thing they want is a repeat of an accident between Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, resulting in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

"We've observed how extremely toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, when they believe that something like sabotage has occurred."

"Ducati should take charge and declare: 'These are our contenders for the title. These are the riders who have a shot at winning the championship. If you're not among them, don't compete aggressively against them.'"

"We hope to avoid that scenario, but it's a worst-case situation for Ducati if Martin is leading the championship. They can't afford to let Martin move to Aprilia while holding the top position."

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

"The man didn’t seem happy at all. It was as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is out of the race, Marc is securing victories – which had caused some concern about maintaining balance before they let him join Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They must consider that they could have retained both of those riders if the circumstances had been handled another way and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

In my view, Ducati has several issues to address in the upcoming weeks. One crucial aspect is that they need to handle the current situation more effectively, or they risk facing significant embarrassment by the end of the season.

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