Post-Aragon Chaos: Should Ducati Intervene After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash?

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

In a podcast discussion, the question was raised: "Is there some uncertainty because the season is still early, making it difficult to tell other Ducati riders that they're out of the championship race and should step aside in such situations?"

A contentious incident on Sunday during the closing stages of the Aragon MotoGP resulted in Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez both losing their chances at securing a spot on the podium.

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

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

The highlight of the race was undoubtedly the fierce competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared inevitable. However, an unexpected incident occurred.

“What was your perspective on the situation? It seems like it happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at one another…”

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

“Almost everything seemed to go against him: two tire problems, starting from the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, a collision that occurred just when it appeared he would soon overtake Alex Marquez for third place.”

“Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and was eager to possibly share the podium with Marc, who was making a remarkable return. Therefore, you can understand that he didn’t want to yield, and essentially, there just wasn’t enough space for both of them.”

"The issue now is, who noticed whom first? And who was supposed to allow more space? The Stewards decided not to take any further steps. They mentioned they reviewed some technical data, but the specifics are unclear."

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

"When two riders on the same team are involved in a collision, the manufacturer has access to the data for both. This is precisely what Ducati has done. We are aware they took a similar approach after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed. Marquez made an offhand comment to resolve the fault dispute, 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 seen what Pecco mentions, would it have altered the outcome? It's uncertain."

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

"A racing incident occurred with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from earning the maximum points this weekend. The most positive aspect 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'll take on the role of Devil's advocate regarding data. Each time someone mentions data, I can't help but recall Honda in 2015. They were so sure they had evidence that Valentino had kicked Marc, and they planned to present it to everyone!"

"If I were to assign responsibility, I would place a bit more on Pecco. This isn't the first time we've witnessed this behavior; it happened in Portugal and again during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco seems to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We witnessed 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 place your bike there? You should anticipate the contact and navigate the corner more effectively."

In Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, he should have realized he was faster than both of them and pulled back instead of engaging. The situation was similar this time too.

"Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off at Turn 12. It's clear that Alex is unaware of your presence. You know that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when making the right flick. It's highly probable that Alex will be there."

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic, especially if you're competing for a championship. I believe Alex should have checked his position and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back and try to overtake later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still enough time. I can make my move later on.'"

In each of these instances I've referred to, Pecco has ended up losing out and has forfeited points. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco about choosing his confrontations with other riders wisely. They should advise him that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending the race with no points at all.

"Pecco occasionally has difficulty accepting the best possible outcome available to him. In contrast, Martin has consistently seized second place when it was achievable in recent weeks. This approach has now put him 23 points ahead in the championship standings."

Moreland responded by saying, "Pete, this situation is reminiscent of what happened last season involving Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's unfortunate timing since Martin is performing flawlessly and consistently earning points."

McLaren commented, "This brings us to the dreaded topic of team orders. It's inevitable to compare Sunday's race with previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to allow more space for the championship contenders."

"Currently, there's some uncertainty since we haven't progressed far enough into the season 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, leading in the championship, believe that fellow Ducati riders will give them extra space on the track. However, those teammates might be thinking, 'Since we haven't received any instructions, we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

"The next issue to consider is what advice you would give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the top two but still have a viable shot at success."

Duncan commented that Ducati should really consider this issue for its own benefit. He explained that the last thing they need is another collision between Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia, which could result in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race.

"We've observed how toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, believing 'this happened, sabotage, and so on'."

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

"We hope to avoid that scenario, but it's a worst-case situation for Ducati with Martin at the top of the championship standings. They can't afford to have Martin switch to Aprilia while holding the number one position."

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

"He didn't seem like a content man. It appeared as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is back to winning races – a concern they had about maintaining balance before letting him join Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

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

“There are several issues Ducati must address in the coming weeks. One key concern is their need to handle the situation more effectively; otherwise, they risk ending the season embarrassed.”

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