**Title: “Ducati Faces Dilemma Post Bagnaia-Marquez Clash: Should Team Orders Be Enforced?”**

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

Podcast: "Is there some uncertainty because the season isn't advanced enough to tell other Ducati riders that they're mathematically out of the championship race, so they should back off in that scenario?"

In a contentious incident during the late stages of Sunday’s Aragon MotoGP, Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez collided, causing both Ducati riders to miss out on a podium finish.

This also implied that the defending champion Bagnaia, who came 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, presenter Jordan Moreland inquired:

The race's most discussed moment was the fierce competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a spot on the podium. Bagnaia appeared poised to overtake Marquez; it seemed inevitable. However, an unexpected incident occurred.

“How did you see it? I believe it happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…”

Crash.net MotoGP editor Pete McLaren commented, "It was a disastrous weekend for Bagnaia, marking his worst performance since the introduction of the Sprint format last year."

"Almost everything went awry for him, with two tire problems, starting from the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, a collision occurred just when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for third place."

It was clear that Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aiming to possibly join Marc on the podium during his remarkable return. Understandably, he didn't want to concede his position, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them.

"The issue at hand is who noticed whom first and who was responsible for allowing more space. The Stewards concluded that no additional measures were necessary. They mentioned reviewing certain technical data, but the specifics remain unclear."

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

"When two riders on identical motorcycles get into an accident, the manufacturer can review the data from both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati did. We are aware they took similar action following the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed. Marc made a casual remark to resolve the debate over fault by stating that ‘Ducati can see all the data…’

“Pecco is now claiming that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this data too? If they had seen the evidence Pecco refers to, would it have influenced their decision? It's uncertain.”

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

"A racing event that had significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing the maximum points this weekend. The most positive outcome is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez emerged without serious injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, "I'll play the role of Devil's advocate regarding data. Every time someone mentions data, I immediately recall Honda in 2015, when they were convinced they had evidence of Valentino kicking Marc and were ready to present it to everyone!"

"If I had to assign blame, I would attribute a bit more of it to Pecco. We've witnessed similar behavior from him previously, such as in Portugal and somewhat during the Sprint race at Jerez. It appears that Pecco struggles with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

In Portugal, we observed this situation with Marc. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, you knew he would re-enter the track. So, why position your bike there? It's clear that this would result in a collision; handle the corner more strategically.

In Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, he should have realized he was faster than both and pulled back. There was no need to engage in a battle. The same situation occurred this time.

"You've noticed that Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex went wide at Turn 12. It's clear he isn't aware of your presence. You understand that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you make the right turn. And it's very likely that Alex will be there."

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic, particularly when you're in contention for a championship. Alex should have checked his surroundings and considered stepping back, thinking, ‘This is going to be close. I'll pull back and try to reclaim my position later.’ Similarly, Pecco should have thought, ‘There’s still plenty of time. I can achieve my goal.’"

"Each time these incidents occurred, Pecco has ended up in a worse position and has lost points because of it. I believe Ducati should have a discussion with Pecco about choosing his confrontations with other riders more wisely. They should emphasize that finishing in 4th place is preferable to not scoring any points at all."

"In my opinion, Pecco occasionally finds it challenging to accept the result that's available to him. For instance, in recent weeks, Martin has consistently accepted second place when it was achievable. As a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded by saying, "Pete, this situation is similar to what happened last season with Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's particularly unfortunate timing because Martin is performing consistently without errors and accumulating points."

"And this brings us to the dreaded topic of team orders," McLaren stated. "It's inevitable to draw parallels between Sunday's race and previous years when other Ducati riders were aware that they needed to allow more space for the title contenders."

"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 back off in certain situations."

“Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, being frontrunners in the championship, other Ducati riders will give them more space on the track. However, the other riders are still under the impression that no instructions have been given and are competing fiercely for every spot.”

"Additionally, there's the matter of what advice you'd give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini. They aren't quite on par with the leading duo but still have a viable shot at contending."

Duncan commented, "I believe Ducati should consider this for its own benefit. 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 the fan base can become quite toxic in such situations, when they believe 'this happened, sabotage, and so on'."

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

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but it would be a disaster for Ducati if Martin, currently leading the championship, switched to Aprilia. They can't afford to let him leave with the top spot."

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

"He didn't seem content. It appeared as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco is off track, Marc is securing victories – a concern that initially made them hesitant to let him join Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They need to consider that they could have retained both of those individuals if the circumstances had been handled differently and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

A lot needs to be addressed by Ducati in the upcoming weeks, and one key aspect is improving their handling of the current situation, or they risk facing significant embarrassment by season's end.

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