**”Ducati’s Dilemma: Should They Intervene After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash?”** In this in-depth article, we discuss the contentious incident between Ducati riders Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez at the Aragon MotoGP, its impact on the championship standings, and

Should Ducati intervene following the Bagnaia and Alex Marquez clash?

Podcast: "Is there some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell other Ducati riders that they're out of the running and should back off in such cases?"

The contentious incident between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the closing stages of Sunday's Aragon MotoGP race resulted in both Ducati riders losing their chance to finish on the podium.

This situation resulted in reigning champion Bagnaia, who came to Spain with a five-point lead in the title race, departing the country injured and trailing Jorge Martin by 23 points.

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

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

“What did you think about the situation? It seems to have 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," commented Pete McLaren, editor for Crash.net MotoGP.

"Almost 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 when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for third place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aiming to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Therefore, you can understand that he was reluctant to yield, and ultimately, there just wasn't sufficient space for both of them."

"The issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who was supposed to make more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional measures. According to them, they reviewed some technical data, but the specifics are unclear."

“The data aspect was intriguing because, after the decision was made, Pecco stated that the data indicated Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically expect a rider to do in a collision situation.”

"When two riders have an accident and they are using the same bikes, the manufacturer can access the data for each rider. This is precisely what Ducati did. After the collision between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia in Portimao, Ducati reviewed the data. Marc Marquez even made a passing comment to end the debate about who was responsible, saying, 'Ducati has access to all the data…'"

"Pecco is now claiming that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. But did the Stewards have access to this data? Could their decision have been different if they had reviewed the information Pecco refers to? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful feature would have been a 'visor cam' perspective, similar to what we saw from Alex Rins during the private test at Misano, to see where each rider's gaze was directed."

"A race-related incident that carries significant consequences. Fortunately for Pecco, Marc's intervention prevented Martin from claiming the top 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.

"I’m going to challenge the use of data here, because whenever someone mentions data, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were convinced they had data proving that Valentino had kicked Marc and were ready to present it to everyone!" remarked MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"However, if I were to assign blame, I would place a slightly larger share on Pecco. We've witnessed similar situations previously. It happened in Portugal and again in the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We observed 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’s obvious that would lead to a collision. Navigate the corner more strategically."

"At Jerez, when he ended up caught between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – you were faster than both of them, so you should have pulled back. Don't engage in the battle. The same thing happened this time."

"You observed that Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when he veered off course at Turn 12. It's clear he isn’t aware of your presence. You also know that Turn 13 is a tight squeeze where you have to make a sharp right turn, and Alex is probably going to be in that spot."

"In my opinion, being a serious contender for the championship means you need to strategize more effectively. Alex should have glanced behind him and thought, 'This is going to be close, I'll pull back and try to regain my position later.' Similarly, Pecco could have considered, 'There's still plenty of time. I can make my move later on.'"

"In each instance I've highlighted, Pecco has ended up suffering the most and has lost points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco about being more selective in his on-track confrontations with other riders. They should convey that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending up with no points at all."

Pecco seems to have a hard time accepting the results available to him at times. In contrast, Martin has been content with finishing second in recent weeks, which has led him to a 23-point lead in the championship.

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

“This brings us to the issue that everyone dislikes, which is the matter of team orders,” McLaren commented. “It’s hard not to draw parallels between Sunday’s race and previous years when other Ducati racers understood they needed to provide the title contenders with additional space.”

"There’s some uncertainty right now since the season hasn’t progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they’re mathematically out of contention and should therefore hold back in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin, being frontrunners in the championship, believe that their fellow Ducati racers will allow them more space. However, those other riders are still under the impression that no team orders have been issued and are therefore competing fiercely for each spot."

The next issue to consider is what advice to give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who aren't quite at the level of the top two but still have a viable shot.

Duncan stated, "I believe Ducati should review this situation for its own benefit. The last thing they need is another clash between Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, which could lead to Martin gaining more points while Marc stays in the lead."

“We’ve observed how extremely toxic the fan base can become under those circumstances, when they believe ‘this has occurred, sabotage, etc.’

“Ducati should take the initiative and declare: ‘These are our contenders for the title. These are the riders who can clinch the championship. If you're not among them, don't compete aggressively with them’.”

"Ducati is facing a troubling scenario with Martin at the top of the championship standings. They definitely can't afford to let Martin switch to Aprilia while holding the number one position."

"I found it intriguing to observe Gigi Dall’Igna’s reaction once Marc finished the race. He appeared quite distressed and burdened by something."

"He did not seem pleased at all. It was as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is securing victories—which they initially hesitated about, fearing it would disturb the balance before permitting his move to Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

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

“There are several issues Ducati must address in the upcoming weeks. One critical aspect is improving their management of the current situation to avoid potential embarrassment by the season's end.”

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