**Title: Ducati in Crisis: Evaluating Team Orders After the Bagnaia-Marquez Aragon Clash**

Does Ducati need to intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez clash?

Podcast discussion: "Is there some confusion because it's still early in the season to tell other Ducati racers that they have no mathematical chance, so they should back off in such situations?"

Sunday’s disputed late-race incident involving Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez at the Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati racers losing their chances for a podium finish.

It also signified that, after coming to Spain with a five-point lead in the championship, the defending champion Bagnaia departed injured, beaten, and trailing Jorge Martin by 23 points.

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

The race had everyone talking about the intense duel between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a spot on the podium. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared to be only a matter of time. But then, an unexpected incident occurred.

“What’s your perspective on what happened? It seems the event occurred not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…”

"A dreadful weekend for Bagnaia. This is the least amount of points he has earned at an event since the Sprint format was introduced last year," responded Pete McLaren, the editor for Crash.net MotoGP.

"Nearly everything went awry for him, including two tire problems, qualifying on the less favorable side of the track, and to top it all off, a collision when it seemed inevitable he would secure 3rd place from Alex Marquez."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and was hopeful of possibly sharing the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Understandably, he didn't want to concede his position, and ultimately, there simply 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 officials decided not to take any additional measures. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, though the specifics are unclear."

"The data aspect was intriguing because, after the decision, Pecco stated that the information indicated Alex possibly didn't decelerate as much as one might anticipate in a crash."

"When two riders on the same team have an accident, the manufacturer can review the data from both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have done. We are aware that they conducted a similar review after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed, and Marc casually remarked that Ducati has access to all the data, which helped resolve the dispute over who was responsible."

"Pecco is now claiming that the data proves he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this information too? If they had seen what Pecco says the data clearly shows, would it have made a difference in their decision? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful tool would have been the 'visor cam' perspective we saw from Alex Rins during the private test at Misano, which shows exactly where each rider's focus is."

A racing event occurred with significant consequences. Fortunately for Pecco, Marc's actions prevented Martin from securing the highest points possible this weekend. The most positive update is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained severe injuries.

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

"I'm going to challenge the data perspective a bit here, because whenever data is mentioned, it reminds me of Honda in 2015. They were absolutely convinced they had evidence showing Valentino kicking Marc and were eager to present it publicly!" stated MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"However, if I were to assign blame, I would place a slightly greater share on Pecco. We've witnessed similar behavior from him previously, such as in Portugal and to some extent during the Sprint race in Jerez. It appears that Pecco struggles with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We observed this situation with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, it was clear he would return to the inside. So, why place your bike there? You know it will lead to a collision; you should navigate the corner more wisely."

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

"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's unaware of your presence. You're aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you make a right turn. It's highly probable that Alex will be there."

"In my opinion, you need to approach the game more strategically, especially when you're competing for the championship. I believe Alex should have checked behind him and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll step back and look for another opportunity to make a move later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered that there was still plenty of time to achieve his goal."

"In all the instances I referred to, Pecco has ended up in the worst position and has lost points because of it. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco and advise him to be more selective about his fights with other riders. It's better to finish in 4th place than to end up with no points at all."

"In my opinion, Pecco occasionally has difficulty accepting the position available to him. Take Martin, for instance. Lately, he has consistently secured second place when that was the best he could achieve. As a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded: “Pete, this situation is reminiscent of last season's event involving Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans. It's also unfortunate timing since Martin is currently avoiding errors and consistently scoring points."

"That brings us to the topic we all dislike: team orders," said McLaren. "It's hard not to draw parallels between Sunday's race and previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to allow more space for the title contenders."

"There's currently some uncertainty because we haven't progressed far enough into the season to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically out of the running and should therefore back off in such situations."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, being leaders in the championship, they'll receive more leeway from fellow Ducati racers. However, those teammates are still in the mindset of, 'We haven't received any instructions so far, so we're competing fiercely for every spot.'"

The next issue to address is what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are trailing slightly behind the leading duo but still have a viable opportunity.

Duncan commented that Ducati should consider this issue carefully for its own benefit. The last thing they want 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 how toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, believing things like 'this was sabotage' and so on."

"Ducati must take charge and declare: 'These are our contenders for the title. These are the riders who can clinch the championship. If you're not among them, avoid racing them aggressively.'"

"We really hope to avoid this scenario. It's a worst-case situation for Ducati, with Martin currently at the top of the championship. They can't afford to let Martin take the number one spot to Aprilia."

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

"That individual certainly didn't seem pleased. It was as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco's crashed, Marc is securing victories – a concern they had about maintaining balance before permitting his move to Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

"They need to consider that they might have had both of those riders on their team if the circumstances had been handled differently and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

A significant challenge lies ahead for Ducati in the coming weeks. One of their key tasks will be to better manage the current situation, or they risk facing considerable embarrassment by the season's end.

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