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

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

Podcast: "Is there some uncertainty because we haven't progressed far enough into the season to tell other Ducati riders, 'you're no longer in contention, so hold back in such scenarios'?"

In a contentious incident during the final stages of Sunday's Aragon MotoGP, Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez collided, causing both Ducati riders to miss out on a podium finish.

Additionally, this resulted in reigning champion Bagnaia, who had come to Spain with a five-point lead in the title race, 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, posed the question:

The main highlight of the race was the intense competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared inevitable. However, an unexpected incident then occurred.

"What are your thoughts on the situation? It seems to have happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at one another…"

"A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia, marking his worst performance since the introduction of the Sprint format last year," stated Pete McLaren, the MotoGP editor for Crash.net.

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

“Clearly, Alex was eager to perform well in front of his local supporters and had hopes of joining Marc on the podium during his remarkable return. Naturally, he was determined to hold his position, but ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them.”

"The issue now is, who noticed the other person first? And who was responsible for making more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional steps. They mentioned that they reviewed some technical data, though the specifics remain unclear."

"The data aspect was intriguing because, after the decision, Pecco mentioned that the information suggested Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically anticipate in a crash."

"When two riders have an accident while riding the same type of motorcycle, the manufacturer can access data from both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have done. We are aware that they performed a similar analysis after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed, and Marc defused the blame game by mentioning, 'Ducati has access to all the data…'"

"Pecco now claims that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards review this information too? If they had, would their decision have been different based on what Pecco suggests the data reveals? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful feature would have been the 'visor cam' perspective we saw from Alex Rins during the private Misano test, giving us insight into where each rider was focusing their attention!"

"A racing incident occurred with significant consequences. Fortunately for Pecco, Marc prevented Martin from earning the maximum points this weekend. The best part is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

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

“I’m going to challenge this perspective using data, because every time someone mentions data, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were convinced they had evidence showing Valentino kicking Marc and were prepared to reveal it to everyone!” stated Lewis Duncan, a MotoGP journalist.

"However, if I were to assign blame, I would attribute a bit more to Pecco. This isn't the first time we've observed such behavior from him. Similar instances occurred in Portugal and somewhat during the Sprint race at Jerez. It appears that Pecco struggles to discern the right moments for engaging in battles."

"We witnessed 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 was inevitable that there would be a collision; you should navigate the corner more strategically."

"At Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, he should have pulled back since he was faster than both of them. There was no need to engage in a battle. The same principle applied to this situation."

"Alex didn't check his surroundings. When Alex went wide into Turn 12, he was behind him. It's clear that Alex isn't aware of your presence. Turn 13 is a known pinch point, especially when you make the right turn. It's highly probable that Alex will be there."

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic, particularly when you're competing for the championship. I believe Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought, ‘This is a close call. I'll pull back and look for another opportunity to overtake’. Similarly, Pecco should have considered that there was still plenty of time to make his move successfully."

"In each of the situations I've highlighted, Pecco has ended up in the worst position and has lost points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco to advise him on choosing his battles wisely when interacting with other riders. They should emphasize that finishing in 4th place is preferable to finishing without any points."

"Pecco seems to have a hard time accepting the results that are available to him. On the other hand, if you observe Martin's performance over the past few weeks, he has consistently secured second place when that was the best he could achieve. 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 since Martin is performing consistently and accumulating points without errors."

McLaren addressed the issue everyone dislikes: team orders. He pointed out that it's hard not to compare this Sunday to previous years when other Ducati riders understood the need to give the title contenders some extra space.

"There's some uncertainty right now because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati racers that they're mathematically eliminated and should back off in that scenario."

“Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, being leaders in the championship, they will be afforded more space by fellow Ducati racers. However, those teammates are likely thinking, ‘We haven't received any instructions yet, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot’."

Next, we must consider what advice to give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are trailing the leading pair but still have a viable shot at success.

Duncan commented, “In my opinion, Ducati should review this situation for its benefit. The last thing you want is for Alex Marquez to have another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, resulting in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race.”

"We have observed how extremely toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, believing that there has been some sort of sabotage, and so on."

"Ducati must take the lead and declare: 'These are your title contenders. These are the riders who have a shot at winning the championship. If you're not among them, don't race them aggressively.'"

"We certainly hope to avoid that scenario. It's a worst-case situation for Ducati, with Martin currently at the top of the championship. They can't afford to let Martin transfer to Aprilia while holding the championship title."

"It caught my attention when we observed Gigi Dall’Igna's reaction after Marc finished the race. He appeared to be quite… distressed. He seemed burdened by something."

He did not seem pleased at all. It appeared as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is securing victories—which initially caused concern about disrupting the balance before they permitted him to join Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings.

"They need to consider that if things had been handled differently, they could have both of those individuals on their team, had Marc been willing to join Pramac."

"Ducati has quite a bit to address in the upcoming weeks, and a key issue is improving their management of current circumstances. If they fail to do so, they risk facing significant embarrassment by the season's end."

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