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

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

Podcast discussion: "Is there some uncertainty since the season hasn't progressed enough to tell other Ducati riders that they are no longer in contention and should therefore hold back in such scenarios?"

Sunday's heated incident towards the end of the Aragon MotoGP race saw Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez collide, resulting in both Ducati riders being eliminated from podium contention.

This also resulted in reigning champion Bagnaia, who came in with a five-point lead, leaving Spain 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 spot on the podium. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared inevitable. But then, an unexpected event occurred.

“What was your perspective 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 since the introduction of the Sprint format last year," commented Pete McLaren, the MotoGP editor for Crash.net.

"Nearly everything went awry for him: he had two tire problems, qualified on the less favorable side of the track, and to top it all off, he was involved in a collision when, as you mentioned, it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aimed to possibly stand alongside Marc on the podium during his remarkable return. Understandably, he was reluctant to concede, and ultimately, there just 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 steps. They mentioned reviewing certain data from the machines, but the specifics remain unclear."

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

"When two riders crash and they are both using the same bikes, the manufacturer can access the data for both bikes. That is precisely what Ducati did. We are aware that they examined the data after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia had a collision. Marc Marquez made a brief comment to help resolve the blame issue, stating, ‘Ducati has access to all the data…’"

“Pecco is now claiming that the data indicates he wasn’t at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this information too? If they had reviewed what Pecco refers to in the data, would it have altered their decision? It’s uncertain.”

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

"A significant racing event occurred with major consequences. Pecco had some good fortune as Marc prevented Martin from securing the highest points this weekend. The most positive update is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez avoided serious injuries."

“Lewis, how do you feel about this?” Moreland asked.

“I’m going to challenge the data perspective a bit, because whenever someone mentions data, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were convinced they had evidence proving that Valentino had kicked Marc, and they were ready to present it to everyone!” stated MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"If I were to assign blame, I would attribute more of it to Pecco. We've observed this behavior previously—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 it with Marc in Portugal. Regardless of whether you could spot him from the outside, it was clear he was going to return to the track. So why position your bike there? You know it's going to result in a collision. Navigate the corner more skillfully."

In Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, he was actually faster than both of them. Instead of battling it out, he should have eased off. The same advice applies to this situation.

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

"In my opinion, it's crucial to play smart, particularly when you're competing for a 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 look for another opportunity to counter.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still plenty of time; I can accomplish this later.'"

"On each of those instances I brought up, Pecco ended up in the worst position and lost points. In my opinion, Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco about choosing his confrontations wisely when competing with other riders. They should emphasize that securing a 4th place finish is better than ending up with no points at all."

"Pecco occasionally seems to have difficulty accepting what's available. When you consider Martin, for instance, in recent weeks, he has accepted second place when it was the best option. 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 performing flawlessly and consistently earning points."

"And this brings us to the dreaded topic of team orders," McLaren stated. "It's hard not to draw parallels between Sunday and previous years when other Ducati riders were aware that they needed to allow the title contenders some extra space."

"Currently, there's some uncertainty since we haven't progressed far enough into the season to tell the other Ducati riders that they are mathematically out of contention and should therefore hold back in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, being frontrunners in the championship race, they'll get more leeway from their fellow Ducati riders. However, those teammates are likely thinking, 'We haven’t received any instructions to ease up, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

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

Duncan remarked that Ducati should consider reviewing the situation for its own benefit. He expressed concern about the possibility of Alex Marquez having another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, which could lead to Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race.

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

"Ducati should take the lead and declare: 'These are our contenders for the championship. These are the riders who have a shot at winning the title. 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 move to Aprilia while holding the number one position is not an option for them."

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

"He did not seem pleased at all. It was as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco is down in the gravel, Marc is back to winning races – which was a concern about maintaining balance before they permitted him to join Gresini initially – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They need to realize that if the circumstances had been handled differently and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac, they could have had both of those riders on their team."

"Ducati has a lot to address in the upcoming weeks, and one crucial aspect is better management of the current situation. Failing to do so could result in significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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