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

Should Ducati intervene following the incident between Bagnaia and Alex Marquez? In a recent podcast, the question was raised: "Is there some uncertainty because the season is still early, making it difficult to tell other Ducati riders that they are mathematically out of contention and should therefore hold back in such situations?"

The contentious incident between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the latter stages of Sunday's Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati riders losing their chance at a podium finish.

This also implied that reigning 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, presenter Jordan Moreland inquired:

The main 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, with the outcome appearing inevitable. However, an unexpected incident occurred.

"What did you think about the situation? It appears to have happened not long ago. Clearly, each cyclist is holding the other responsible…"

"A dreadful weekend for Bagnaia, marking his poorest performance since the Sprint format was introduced last year," commented Pete McLaren, the MotoGP editor at Crash.net.

"Almost everything went awry for him, from the two tire problems to qualifying on the unfavorable side of the track, and to top it all off, a crash occurred just when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aiming to possibly stand beside Marc on the podium during his remarkable return. As you might expect, he didn't want to concede, 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 more space? The Stewards decided not to take any further steps. They mentioned examining some data from the machines, but the specifics are 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 in the event of a collision."

When two riders on identical motorcycles are involved in a collision, the manufacturer has access to the data for both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have examined. It's known that they conducted a similar review after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed. Marc Marquez made a dismissive comment to address the blame, stating, '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 information too? If they had reviewed what Pecco says the data reveals, would their decision have been different? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful feature would have been the 'visor cam' perspective we saw from Alex Rins during the private test at Misano, to see where each rider's gaze was focused!"

"A significant racing event occurred with substantial consequences. Fortunately for Pecco, Marc's intervention prevented Martin from securing the highest points this weekend. The most reassuring news is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez escaped serious injury."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, “I’m going to challenge the data argument a bit here. Whenever someone mentions data, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They firmly believed they had evidence that Valentino had kicked Marc and were ready to present it to everyone!”

"If I were to assign blame, I would place a greater share on Pecco. We've witnessed similar behavior from him previously – in Portugal and to some extent during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco seems 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, you could anticipate his return to the track. So, why position your bike in a way that would inevitably lead to a collision? You should navigate the corner more skillfully."

"In Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, it was clear he was faster than both of them. He should have pulled back instead of engaging in the battle. The same principle applied in this situation."

"You observed Alex not checking his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off at Turn 12. You noticed that he's unaware of your presence. You know Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you make a right turn. It's very likely that Alex will be there."

"You need to strategize more effectively, particularly when you're contending for the championship. I'd suggest that Alex should have checked behind him and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back and try to regain my position later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still time. I can make my move later.'"

“Each time those incidents occurred, Pecco ended up in a worse position and lost points. In my opinion, Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco about being more strategic when interacting with other riders. They should emphasize that sometimes it’s better to secure a 4th place finish rather than risk ending up with no points at all.”

“Pecco seems to occasionally have difficulty accepting the position available to him. In contrast, Martin has consistently secured second place when that was the best he could achieve in recent weeks. As a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points.”

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

"And that brings us to the dreaded topic of team orders," McLaren remarked. "It's hard not to draw parallels between Sunday's race and previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to give the championship contenders some extra space."

"Currently, there's some uncertainty since the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're no longer in contention and should therefore hold back in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin, being frontrunners in the championship, assume that other Ducati riders will give them more leeway. However, those other riders are under the impression that no instructions have been given and they are still competing fiercely for every spot."

"Then there's the matter of what advice you would give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are just one step behind the leading duo but still have a viable opportunity."

Duncan remarked: "In my opinion, Ducati should examine this for its own benefit. The last thing they want is for Alex Marquez to have another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, resulting in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

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

"Ducati should take the lead and declare: 'These are our contenders for the championship title. These are the riders who have a chance to win. 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 standings. They can't afford to let Martin move to Aprilia while holding the number one position."

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

"He was clearly unhappy. It seemed as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is securing victories – a concern they had about disrupting the balance before letting him join Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They must be considering the possibility that they could have retained both of those racers if the circumstances had been handled differently and Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

In the coming weeks, Ducati has several issues to address. One crucial aspect is improving their management of the current situation, or they risk facing significant embarrassment by the season's end.

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