**Title: Ducati Dilemma: Should Team Orders Be Enforced After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash?**

Should Ducati intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez clash?

Discussion: "Is there some uncertainty because it's still early in the season to tell other Ducati riders; 'you're no longer in contention, so hold back in such scenarios'?"

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

This outcome resulted in reigning champion Bagnaia, who arrived in Spain with a five-point lead in the title race, leaving the country bruised, 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 fight for a podium finish between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez. Bagnaia appeared to be closing in on Marquez, and it seemed inevitable that he would overtake him soon. However, things took an unexpected turn when an incident occurred.

"What did you think about it? It appears to have happened just recently. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…"

“A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia. It’s his worst performance in an event since the introduction of the Sprint format last year,” commented Pete McLaren, the MotoGP editor at Crash.net.

Nearly everything seemed to go 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 as it appeared he was on the verge of securing 3rd place from Alex Marquez.

Alex, competing before his home crowd, was aiming to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Naturally, he was reluctant to relinquish his position, and the situation ultimately boiled down to a lack of space for both riders.

The issue now is who noticed the other first and who should have made more space. The Stewards decided not to take any further action. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, though the specifics remain unclear.

"The data aspect was intriguing because, when Pecco later discussed the decision, he mentioned that the data indicated Alex didn't slow down as much as one might anticipate in a crash."

"When two riders on identical bikes are involved in a crash, the manufacturer can access data from both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have examined. After the Portimao incident between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia, Ducati reviewed the data. Marc Marquez made a casual remark to address the blame issue, saying, 'Ducati can see all the data…'"

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

"Another helpful feature could have been the 'visor cam' perspective we saw from Alex Rins during the private test at Misano, which would show us where each rider was focusing their attention!"

"A racing mishap with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing the maximum points this weekend, and the most positive update is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

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

"I'm going to challenge the data perspective a little, because whenever data is mentioned, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were confident they had evidence showing Valentino had kicked Marc and intended to reveal it to everyone!" remarked MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"If I were to assign blame, I would attribute a larger portion to Pecco. We have witnessed similar behavior from him in the past, notably in Portugal and somewhat during the Sprint race in Jerez. It appears that Pecco struggles with choosing his battles wisely."

"We witnessed it with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him externally, you knew he was going to return to the inside. So why position your bike there? It's bound to result in a collision; you should navigate the corner more skillfully."

"At Jerez, when he found himself trapped between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – remember, you’re faster than both of them, so ease off. There's no need to battle it out. This situation was similar."

“You noticed that Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. You observed that he isn’t aware of your presence. You understand that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you shift to the right. And it’s highly probable that Alex will be in that location.

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic, particularly when you're competing for a championship. I believe Alex should have checked behind him and thought, ‘This is going to be close. I'll pull back and try to make a move later’. Similarly, Pecco should have considered, ‘I still have time. I can make this happen’."

"Pecco has consistently faced unfavorable outcomes and lost points in those instances. I believe Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco about being more strategic in his interactions with other riders, emphasizing that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending up with no points at all."

"Pecco occasionally seems to have difficulty accepting the position that's available to him. In contrast, Martin, over the past few weeks, has been able to secure second place when that's been achievable. As a result, he's now leading the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded, “Pete, this situation is reminiscent of the previous season's clash between Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. The timing is unfortunate since Martin is performing consistently and accumulating points."

McLaren addressed an issue that is widely disliked: team orders. He pointed out that Sunday's race inevitably invites comparisons to previous years, where other Ducati riders were aware they needed to allow more space for those competing for the championship.

"There's some uncertainty right now because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they are mathematically eliminated and should therefore hold back in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that being frontrunners in the championship means other Ducati riders will give them more space. However, those riders are actually thinking, ‘We haven’t received any instructions, so we’re still competing fiercely for every spot.’"

Another point to consider is what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the top two but still have a viable shot at catching up.

Duncan commented, "In my opinion, Ducati should reassess the situation for its own benefit. The last thing they need is for Alex Marquez to clash with Pecco Bagnaia again, which could result in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

"We've observed just how toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, especially when they start to believe things like 'this was sabotage' and similar accusations."

"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 with them.'"

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but it would be a disaster for Ducati if Martin, currently leading the championship, were to switch to Aprilia while holding the top spot."

"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."

"That individual did not seem pleased. It was as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is securing victories—which had initially caused some concern about maintaining balance before they let 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 them on our team."

"Ducati has several issues to address in the upcoming weeks. One crucial aspect is improving how they handle the current situation; otherwise, they risk facing significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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