**Title: Ducati’s Dilemma: After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash, Is It Time for Team Orders?**

Should Ducati intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez clash?

Podcast Discussion: "Is there some uncertainty because we haven't progressed far enough into the season to tell other Ducati riders, 'you're no longer in contention, so hold back in such situations'?"

The contentious incident between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the latter stages of Sunday's Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati racers missing out on a podium finish.

Consequently, despite coming to Spain with a five-point lead in the championship standings, the defending champion Bagnaia departed the country injured and trailing Jorge Martin by 23 points.

In the newest episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, presenter Jordan Moreland inquired:

The race's most significant moment was the intense fight between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a spot on the podium. Bagnaia appeared poised to overtake Alex; it seemed inevitable. Then, the unexpected occurred.

"What were your thoughts on the situation? I believe it happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are accusing each other…"

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

"Nearly everything fell apart for him: he faced two tire problems, qualified on the less favorable side of the track, and to top it all off, he collided when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for third place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and was eager to possibly stand alongside Marc on the podium during his remarkable return. Therefore, you can understand 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? And who should have made more space? According to the Stewards, no additional measures are necessary. They mentioned reviewing some machine data, though the specifics remain unclear."

"The data aspect was intriguing because, following the decision, Pecco commented that the data suggested Alex didn't slow down as much as one might anticipate from a rider involved in a collision."

"When two riders are involved in an accident and they are both using the same type of bike, the manufacturer can access data from both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati did. We are aware that they also reviewed the data following the Portimao incident when Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed into each other. Marc casually ended the debate about blame by stating, '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 information too? If they had seen the data Pecco is referring to, would it have made a difference? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful feature would have been the 'visor cam' view, similar to what we saw from Alex Rins during the private test at Misano. This would allow us to see where each rider was focusing their attention."

"A racing incident occurred with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from earning the maximum points this weekend. The most encouraging news is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez suffered serious injuries."

“What’s your opinion on this, Lewis?” Moreland asked.

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

"However, if I were to assign blame, I would allocate a bit more to Pecco. This isn't the first time we've observed this behavior. It was evident in Portugal and somewhat apparent during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"In Portugal, we observed the incident involving Marc. Regardless of whether you could see him from the outside, it was evident he would return to the inside. So why position your bike there? You should anticipate the contact and navigate the corner more strategically."

At Jerez, he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder. You’re faster than both of them, so pull back. Don’t engage. It was a similar situation this time.

"You observed that Alex didn't glance around. He was following Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. You noticed that he is unaware of your presence. You are aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you switch to the right. It's highly probable that Alex will be in that spot."

"In my opinion, it's important to strategize more effectively, especially when you're in contention for a championship. You could say that Alex should have checked his position and thought, ‘This is going to be close. I'll ease off and try to make a comeback later.’ Similarly, Pecco should have considered, ‘There’s still plenty of time. I can accomplish this later on.’"

In all the instances I talked about, Pecco ended up with the short end of the stick, losing valuable points. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco about being more strategic in his confrontations with other riders. They should advise him that sometimes securing a 4th place finish is more advantageous than finishing a race without any points.

"Pecco seems to occasionally have a hard time accepting the best possible outcome available to him. In contrast, Martin has consistently accepted second place when it was the best he could achieve in recent weeks. As a result, Martin now leads the championship by 23 points."

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

“That brings us to the topic everyone dislikes: team orders,” McLaren stated. “It’s inevitable to draw parallels between this Sunday and previous seasons, where other Ducati racers understood they needed to allow the title contenders some extra space.”

"There's some uncertainty right now because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're statistically out of contention and should therefore hold back."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that their position at the top of the championship standings will cause other Ducati riders to give them more space. However, those other riders are actually thinking, 'We haven't received any instructions, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

"Next, the issue arises of what advice to give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the leading pair but still have a viable opportunity."

Duncan commented that Ducati should consider this issue for its benefit. He mentioned that it would be undesirable if Alex Marquez had another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, leading to Martin gaining more points while Marc is leading the race.

"We've observed how toxic the fan base can become in those moments when they believe things like 'this was sabotage' and so on."

"Ducati should take the lead and declare: 'These are our title contenders. These are the racers who have a shot at winning the championship. If you're not among them, don't compete aggressively against them.'"

"We hope to avoid this scenario, but it's a worst-case situation for Ducati with Martin currently at the top of the championship. Allowing Martin to switch to Aprilia while holding the number one position isn't really an option for them."

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

"That individual did not appear content. It seemed as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco is off track, Marc is clinching victories – a concern they had about disrupting the balance before permitting his move to Gresini – and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

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

"Ducati has a lot to address in the coming weeks, and 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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