**”Ducati’s Dilemma: Should the Team Intervene After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash?”**

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

Podcast discussion: “Is there some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell other Ducati riders, ‘you’re no longer in contention, so you should back off in such scenarios’?"

During Sunday's Aragon MotoGP, a contentious incident in the closing stages of the race involving Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez resulted in both Ducati riders being eliminated from a podium finish.

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

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

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 turn of events occurred.

“What’s your perspective on the situation? It seems to have happened not long ago. Clearly, each cyclist is pointing the finger at the other…”

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

Nearly everything fell apart for him, from the two tire problems to qualifying on the less favorable side of the track. To top it all off, he had a collision just when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for third place.

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his home crowd and aimed to possibly stand on the podium alongside Marc during his remarkable return. As you might expect, he was reluctant to concede, and ultimately, there simply wasn't sufficient space for both of them."

"The issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who should have provided more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional measures. They mentioned that they examined some technical data, though the specifics are 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 anticipate from a rider involved in an accident."

When two riders on identical bikes are involved in an accident, the manufacturer can review the data for both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have done. We know they also analyzed the data following the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed into each other. Marc tried to resolve the blame issue with a seemingly dismissive comment, saying, 'Ducati can see all the data…'

"Pecco claims that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. But did the Stewards have access to this information? If they had seen what Pecco mentioned, would their decision have been different? It's uncertain."

"It would have also been helpful to have the 'visor cam' perspective that we saw from Alex Rins during the private test at Misano, so we could see where each rider's focus was!"

"An incident on the track had significant consequences. Pecco had some luck as Marc prevented Martin from securing the highest points this weekend. The most positive outcome is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, “I’m going to challenge the data perspective for a moment. Whenever data is mentioned, I’m reminded of Honda in 2015. They were convinced they had evidence that Valentino had kicked Marc and were eager to present it to everyone.”

“If blame needed to be assigned, I’d place a bit more on Pecco. This isn't the first time we’ve observed this behavior; it was evident in Portugal and also somewhat during the Sprint race in Jerez. Pecco seems to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We witnessed it with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, you knew he would come back in, so why position your bike there? You should navigate the corner more effectively to avoid contact."

“At Jerez, when he got caught between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, you were faster than both of them. Just step back and avoid the confrontation. It was the same situation this time.”

"You've noticed that Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when he veered off course at Turn 12. It's clear that Alex is unaware of your presence. You understand that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you switch to the right. And it's very probable that Alex will be in that area."

"You need to strategize more effectively, particularly when vying for a championship. In my opinion, Alex should have checked behind him and thought, ‘This is going to be close. I should pull back and try to regain my position later.’ Similarly, Pecco should have taken the same approach, realizing that there was still plenty of time to make his move successfully."

"Every time this has happened, Pecco has ended up in a worse position and has lost points because of it. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco and advise him to choose his battles carefully when interacting with other riders. For example, securing a 4th place finish is preferable to finishing without any points."

“Pecco seems to occasionally have trouble accepting the best result he can achieve. In contrast, Martin, over the past several weeks, has consistently accepted second place when that's the best he could get. As a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points.”

Moreland responded, saying, "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 scoring points."

McLaren stated, “And this brings up the topic we all dislike: team orders. It's inevitable to compare Sunday's race to previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to allow more space for the title contenders.”

"There's currently some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically eliminated, so they should hold back in that scenario."

"Pecco and Martin might believe that, as frontrunners in the championship, other Ducati riders will give them more leeway. However, the other riders are still competing fiercely for every spot, saying, 'We haven't received any instructions to the contrary yet.'"

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

Duncan stated, “In my opinion, Ducati should review this situation for its own benefit. The last thing they want is for Alex Marquez to have another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, which could result in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

"We've observed how the fan base can become quite toxic in such scenarios, believing that sabotage or similar actions have taken place."

Ducati should take action and identify their top contenders for the title, stating: ‘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 this scenario, but it's a troubling situation for Ducati as Martin is ahead in the championship standings. They can't afford to let Martin switch 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 as though something was heavily on his mind."

"He didn't seem pleased at all. It was as if he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is off track, Marc is securing victories—which was a concern about maintaining balance before they even let him join Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

“They must consider that if things had been handled differently and Marc had been willing to join Pramac, they could have had both of those riders on their team.”

"Ducati has a lot to consider in the coming weeks, and one crucial aspect is improving how they handle the current situation. If they don’t, they risk facing significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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