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

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

Podcast: "Is the situation unclear because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell other Ducati riders, 'you're out of the championship race, so back off in such scenarios'?"

On Sunday, a contentious collision between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the final stages of the Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati riders losing their chances at securing a spot on the podium.

It also implied that reigning champion Bagnaia, who came to Spain with a five-point lead in the title race, departed injured and trailing Jorge Martin by 23 points.

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

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

“What did you think about the situation? It seems to have happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are accusing each other…”

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

"Almost everything that could go wrong did for him. He faced two tire problems, started qualifying on the dirtier side of the track, and 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 local supporters and had hopes of possibly standing alongside Marc on the podium during Marc's significant return. As a result, you can understand that Alex was reluctant to concede, and ultimately, there wasn't sufficient space for both riders.

"The issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who was supposed to make more space? The Stewards concluded that no additional measures were necessary. They reviewed certain technical data, although the specifics remain unclear."

"The data aspect was intriguing because, when Pecco discussed the decision afterward, he mentioned that the data suggested that Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically anticipate from a rider involved in a collision."

"When two riders on identical motorcycles are part of an incident, the manufacturer has access to the data for both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have analyzed. We are aware that they also reviewed the data following the Portimao collision between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia. Marc Marquez casually addressed the question of blame by stating, 'Ducati can review all the data…'"

“Pecco is now claiming that the data proves he wasn't at fault. The question arises whether the Stewards had access to this data too. If they had reviewed what Pecco refers to, 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, so we could see exactly where each rider was focusing!"

"A racing event with significant consequences occurred. Pecco benefited from Marc preventing Martin from scoring the highest points this weekend. Fortunately, neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, "I'll challenge the data perspective a little here. Whenever someone mentions data, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were confident they had evidence that Valentino had kicked Marc and planned to reveal it to everyone!"

"If I had to assign responsibility, I would place slightly more on Pecco because this isn't the first time we've observed this behavior. We've seen it happen in Portugal and again during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We observed the situation with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, it was clear he would return to the track. So, why position your bike in that spot? It was inevitable that it would lead to a collision. You need to handle the corner more strategically."

In Jerez, he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – you're faster than both of them, so pull back. Don’t engage. The situation was similar this time around.

"You noticed that Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. It's clear he isn't aware of your presence. You know that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you switch to the right. Alex is most likely going to be in that area."

“In my opinion, you need to strategize more effectively, especially when you’re competing for the championship. I’d suggest that Alex should have checked his position and thought, ‘This is going to be close. I’ll ease off and try to recover later.’ Similarly, Pecco should have considered, ‘There’s still time left. I can make my move soon.’”

"Each time that these incidents have happened, Pecco has ended up in a worse position and has lost valuable points. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco to advise him on when to engage with other riders. They should emphasize that securing a 4th place finish is more beneficial than ending a race without any points."

"At times, I believe Pecco has difficulty accepting the position he's in. If you observe Martin over the last few weeks, he has consistently accepted second place when it was available, and as a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded, “Pete, this situation is reminiscent of the incident between Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans last season. It's particularly unfortunate right now since Martin is performing flawlessly and consistently earning points.”

"And this brings up the dreaded topic of team orders," McLaren commented. "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 is some uncertainty currently since 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, given their lead in the championship, other Ducati riders will give them more space on the track. However, those riders feel that since no instructions have been given, they are still competing fiercely for every spot."

"Next, we have to consider what advice to give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the leading pair but still have a viable opportunity to catch up."

Duncan commented: "In my opinion, Ducati should review this situation for its own benefit. The last thing they need is another clash between Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, leading to Martin gaining more points while Marc takes the lead."

"We've observed how extremely toxic the fan base can become in those moments when they believe something like 'this happened, it's sabotage, etc.'"

Ducati should take the lead and declare: ‘These are the contenders for the title. 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 the worst-case situation for Ducati is Martin being at the top of the championship standings. Allowing Martin to switch to Aprilia while holding the number one position is something they can't afford to happen."

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

"He did not seem pleased at all. It felt as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is securing victories—which had been a concern about disrupting the balance before letting him join Gresini—and Martin is ahead in the championship standings."

"They must consider that if things had been handled differently and Marc had been willing to join Pramac, we could have had both of those riders on our team."

"I believe Ducati has several issues to address in the upcoming weeks. One critical aspect is improving their management of the current situation to avoid a potentially embarrassing outcome by the season's end."

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