Ducati’s Dilemma: Team Orders and the Fallout from the Bagnaia-Marquez Clash

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

Podcast discussion: "Is there some uncertainty because we haven't progressed far enough into the season to tell other Ducati riders, 'you're mathematically out of contention, so you should hold back in such scenarios'?"

On Sunday, a contentious collision late in the race between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati racers losing their spots on the final podium.

The reigning champion Bagnaia came to Spain with a five-point lead in the title race, but he left the country injured and trailing Jorge Martin by 23 points.

In the most recent 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 spot on the podium. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared inevitable. However, 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 of Crash.net MotoGP.

"Nearly everything fell apart for him: two tire problems, starting from the dirty side of the track in qualifying, and to top it all off, a crash happened just when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his home crowd and aiming to possibly stand alongside Marc on the podium during 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 issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who was responsible for providing more space? The Stewards determined no additional measures were necessary. They mentioned reviewing certain machine data, but the specifics remain unclear.

"The data aspect was intriguing. After the decision, Pecco mentioned that the data indicated Alex may not have slowed down as much as one would typically anticipate in a collision."

"When two riders using identical bikes are involved in an incident, the manufacturer has access to data from both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati has done. They did the same analysis after the Portimao collision between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia. Marquez dismissed the debate over fault with a simple remark, stating, 'Ducati can see all the data…'"

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

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

"A racing event occurred with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate as Marc prevented Martin from securing the highest points this weekend, and the positive outcome 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 data perspective for a moment, because whenever someone mentions data, I immediately recall how Honda in 2015 was confident they had data proving Valentino had kicked Marc and planned to present it publicly,” remarked MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"If I were to assign blame, I would hold Pecco slightly more responsible because this isn't the first time we've observed such behavior. We noticed it in Portugal and again during the Sprint race in Jerez. Pecco appears to have difficulty choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We observed this situation with Marc in Portugal. Regardless of whether you could see him from the outside, it was clear he intended to return to the track. So why position your bike there? You know it will lead to a collision; you should handle the corner more strategically."

In Jerez, when he found himself caught between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, the advice was clear: "You're faster than both of them, so ease off. There's no need to battle it out." The same principle applied in this situation as well.

"You noticed Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when he went off course at Turn 12. It's clear he doesn't realize you're close by. You're aware that Turn 13, where you make a sharp right, is a tight spot. And it's highly probable that Alex will be there."

"In my opinion, you need to strategize more effectively, particularly if you're competing for the championship. Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought, 'It's going to be close. I'll ease off and then try to regain my position later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still time left. I can make my move later.'"

"Every time this has happened, Pecco has ended up worse off, losing points each time. Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco about choosing his battles wisely during races. It's better to finish in 4th place than to end up with no points at all."

"Pecco seems to occasionally have difficulty accepting the position available to him. For instance, if you observe Martin over the last few weeks, he has accepted second place when that's what was attainable. As a result, he is now leading the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded, “Pete, this situation is similar to what happened between Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans last season. It’s unfortunate timing, especially since Martin is performing consistently and accumulating points without errors."

"And this brings us to the topic everyone dislikes: team orders," a McLaren spokesperson remarked. "It's hard not to draw parallels between Sunday's race and previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to give the title challengers some extra space."

"There seems to be some uncertainty right now, as the season hasn’t progressed far enough to tell the other Ducati racers that they're out of contention and should therefore hold back in such scenarios."

“Pecco and Martin might believe that, being at the forefront of the championship, their fellow Ducati riders will give them more space. However, the other riders are likely thinking, ‘We haven't received any instructions yet, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.’”

"Next, consider what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are just behind the leading pair but still have a viable opportunity."

Duncan mentioned that Ducati should consider reviewing the situation for its benefit. He expressed concern about Alex Marquez potentially having another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, which could result in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race.

"We've witnessed how the fan base can become quite toxic in these moments, when they start to believe 'this was intentional, sabotage and so on.'"

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

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but it's a dire situation for Ducati with Martin at the top of the championship standings. Allowing Martin to move to Aprilia while holding the number one spot is not a viable option for them."

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

"He did not seem pleased. It was as if he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is winning races—which they were initially concerned might disrupt the balance before they let him join Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They must be considering that they could have retained both of those individuals if the circumstances had been handled in another manner, and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

"Ducati has a lot to consider in the coming weeks, and one key aspect is improving their management of the current situation to avoid potential embarrassment by the season's end."

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