**Ducati’s Dilemma: Should They Intervene After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash?**

Should Ducati intervene following the incident between Bagnaia and Alex Marquez? In a podcast discussion, there was a suggestion that it might be too early in the season to tell the other Ducati riders to back off since it's not yet clear if they are out of the championship race mathematically.

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

This also implied that reigning champion Bagnaia, who had come with a five-point lead in the title race, departed 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 following question:

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

“What are your thoughts on the situation? It seems like it happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…”

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

"Nearly everything went awry for him: two tire problems, starting from the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, a collision 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 perhaps stand alongside Marc on the podium for his remarkable return. Therefore, it's understandable that he was reluctant to concede, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them."

The inquiry now is, who noticed whom first? And who was supposed to allow more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional steps. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, but the specifics remain unclear.

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

When two riders on identical motorcycles are involved in an incident, the manufacturer can access data from both bikes. Ducati has certainly done this. We are aware they also reviewed the data after the Portimao collision between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia. Marc made a casual remark to resolve the debate about who was to blame by stating, ‘Ducati can see all the data…’

"Pecco is now stating that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this information too? If they had, would it have influenced their decision? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful tool would have been the 'visor cam' perspective we saw from Alex Rins during the private Misano test, which shows where each rider is focusing their attention!"

"A racing mishap with significant consequences. Pecco benefited from Marc preventing Martin from securing the most points this weekend, and thankfully, both Pecco and Alex Marquez escaped without serious injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan commented, "I'll play the role of Devil's advocate regarding data. Whenever data is mentioned, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were confident they had data proving that Valentino had kicked Marc and were ready to reveal it to everyone!"

"If I were to assign blame, I'd attribute a bit more to Pecco because this isn't the first time we've seen such behavior from him. Similar incidents occurred in Portugal and somewhat during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing his battles wisely."

In Portugal, we observed a situation with Marc. Regardless of whether he was visible from the outside, it was clear he would re-enter, so why position your bike there? You should anticipate the contact and navigate the corner more effectively.

In Jerez, when he found himself caught between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, it was clear he had more speed than both of them. He should have pulled back and avoided the struggle. The situation was similar in this instance.

“It’s clear that Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was positioned behind Alex when he went off track at Turn 12. It’s evident that Alex isn’t aware of your presence. You’re aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot when you switch right. Alex is very likely to be in that position.”

"In my opinion, you need to play strategically, particularly if you're vying for a championship. I believe Alex should have checked behind him and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll ease off and try to counterattack later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still time. I can accomplish this.'"

"Every time this has happened, Pecco has ended up suffering the most and losing points. In my opinion, Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco and advise him to be more selective about when to engage with other riders. They could tell him, 'Finishing in 4th place is better than not scoring any points at all.'"

"Pecco occasionally seems to have difficulty accepting the best available outcome. In contrast, Martin has managed to secure second place in recent weeks, capitalizing on the opportunity. As a result, Martin now leads the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded by saying, “Pete, this situation is similar to what happened last season with Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It’s particularly unfortunate because Martin is not slipping up and is consistently scoring points."

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

"Currently, there's some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they are mathematically out of contention and should therefore hold back in such situations."

“Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, due to their lead in the championship, other Ducati riders will give them more space on the track. However, those other riders are actually thinking, ‘We haven't received any instructions to ease off, so we are still competing fiercely for every spot.’”

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

Duncan commented, "I believe it's crucial for Ducati to examine this situation for its own benefit. The last thing they need is for Alex Marquez to collide with Pecco Bagnaia again, leading to a scenario where Martin gains more points while Marc is leading the race."

"We've observed how toxic the fan base can become in such situations, particularly when they believe ‘this happened due to sabotage, etc.’"

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

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but for Ducati, the worst-case situation is Martin being at the top of the championship. They can't afford to let Martin join Aprilia as the reigning champion."

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

"He did not seem pleased at all. It appeared as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is securing victories – a scenario they were initially concerned might disrupt the balance before permitting him to join Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They need to consider that if the circumstances had been handled another way and if Marc had agreed to join Pramac, we could have had both of those individuals on our team."

"Ducati has a lot to address in the coming weeks, and one key issue is their management of the current situation. If they don't handle it better, they risk facing significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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