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

Is Ducati required to intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez clash?

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

The contentious incident between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the final stages of the Aragon MotoGP on Sunday resulted in both Ducati riders missing out on a podium finish.

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

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

The 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, with the outcome appearing inevitable. Suddenly, an incident occurred that changed everything.

“How did you perceive the situation? I believe it happened not too long ago. Clearly, both cyclists are pointing fingers at each other…”

Crash.net MotoGP editor Pete McLaren commented that Bagnaia had a dreadful weekend, marking his worst performance since the introduction of the Sprint format last year.

“Nearly everything went awry for him: the two tire problems, starting from the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, 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 hometown supporters and aiming to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Therefore, it's understandable that he didn't want to concede, 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 making space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional steps. They mentioned examining some technical data, though the specifics remain unclear.

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

"When two riders on the same team have an incident, the manufacturer has access to the data for both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have reviewed. We are aware they did a similar analysis after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed. Marc made a seemingly casual comment to resolve the blame issue, noting, 'Ducati can see all the data…'"

"Pecco is now claiming that the data exonerates him from any blame. The question arises whether the Stewards had access to this data. If they did, would it have influenced their decision? It's uncertain."

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

"A significant event in the race with major consequences. Pecco caught a break as Marc prevented Martin from scoring the maximum points this weekend. The silver lining is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez escaped without serious injuries."

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

Motorsport journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, "I'm going to challenge the data a bit, as I always recall Honda in 2015. They were confident they had data proving that Valentino had kicked Marc and planned to reveal it to everyone!"

“However, if I were to assign blame, I’d attribute a bit more to Pecco. This behavior is familiar; we observed it in Portugal and somewhat during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with knowing when to engage in battles."

"We observed it happen in Portugal with Marc. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, you knew he would re-enter, so why position your bike there? It was inevitable that it would lead to a collision. You should navigate the corner more skillfully."

In Jerez, he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder. He was faster than both of them, so he should have pulled back and not engaged in the fight. The situation was similar in this instance.

The evidence shows that Alex did not check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when the latter 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, especially when you switch to the right. It is highly probable that Alex will be in that position.

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic when you're competing for a championship. I believe Alex should have checked his surroundings and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back now and try to make a move later.' Pecco should have had a similar mindset, thinking, 'There's still time left. I can make my move soon.'"

"Each time this has happened, Pecco has ended up in the worst position and has lost points because of it. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with him about being more selective when engaging with other riders. They should emphasize that finishing in 4th place is preferable to ending the race without any points."

"It seems that Pecco occasionally has difficulty accepting the position available to him. In contrast, Martin has been content with finishing in second place in recent weeks, which is why he now leads the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded, "Pete, this situation is similar to what happened last season between Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's particularly unfortunate because Martin is performing flawlessly and consistently scoring points."

McLaren addressed the topic that is universally disliked, which is the issue of team orders. He mentioned that it's hard not to draw comparisons between Sunday's race and previous years, where other Ducati riders were aware they needed to allow more space for the title contenders.

"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 situations."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, since they're leading the championship, the other Ducati riders will give them more space. However, those riders are currently thinking, ‘We haven't received any instructions, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.’"

"Additionally, there's the matter of what advice you would offer to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are trailing the leading pair but still have a viable opportunity."

Duncan commented, “In my opinion, Ducati should consider this for its benefit. The last thing they need is Alex Marquez having another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, which could result in Martin gaining more points as Marc leads the race.”

“We've observed how extremely toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, when they believe ‘this occurred, sabotage, etcetera’.”

"Ducati should take charge and declare: 'These are our title contenders. These are the riders who can win the championship. If you're not among them, don't compete aggressively against them.'"

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but it's a worst-case situation for Ducati with Martin at the top of the championship standings. Allowing Martin to switch to Aprilia while holding the number one position is not something they can afford to let happen."

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

“That man appeared quite unhappy. It seemed like he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is securing victories – a concern that initially made them hesitant to let him join Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings.

"They need to consider that they could have retained both riders if the circumstances had been handled better and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

"Ducati has several issues to address in the coming weeks. One of the main concerns is that they must handle the situation more effectively, or they risk facing embarrassment by the end of the season."

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