**Title: “Ducati’s Dilemma: Assessing the Aftermath of the Bagnaia-Marquez Clash and Team Strategy Moving Forward”**

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

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

On Sunday, a contentious incident towards the end of the race at the Aragon MotoGP led to a collision between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez, resulting in both Ducati riders losing their chances of securing a spot on the podium.

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

During the most recent episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast, presenter Jordan Moreland inquired:

"The race's main highlight was the intense competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared to be inevitable. However, an unexpected event occurred."

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

"A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia. He recorded his worst performance in an event since the introduction of the Sprint format last year," stated Pete McLaren, editor at Crash.net MotoGP.

"Practically 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 had a collision right when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for third place."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and hoping to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. As you might expect, he didn't want to concede, and ultimately, there just wasn't sufficient space for both of them."

"The issue now is determining who spotted whom first and who should have allowed more space. The Stewards concluded that no additional action was necessary. They stated that they reviewed some technical data, though the specifics of what they examined remain unclear."

"The data was intriguing because, after the decision was made, Pecco mentioned that the information suggested Alex didn't slow down as much as one might anticipate in a crash."

"When two riders on identical bikes are involved in an incident, the manufacturer has access to the data for both. This is precisely what Ducati would have done. We are aware that they conducted a similar review after the Portimao collision between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia. In that instance, Marc made a casual remark to resolve the debate about blame by saying, 'Ducati has access to all the data…'"

"Pecco now claims that the data proves he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards also review this data? If they had, 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 Misano test, as it would show exactly where each rider was focusing their attention!"

"A racing event with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing the maximum points for the 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 challenge the data here, since whenever someone mentions data, I immediately recall Honda in 2015. They were confident they had evidence showing Valentino had kicked Marc and intended to reveal it to everyone!"

"However, if I were to assign blame, I would place a bit more of it on Pecco. We've observed this behavior before— it was evident in Portugal and somewhat noticeable during the Sprint race in Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We witnessed it with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, you knew he would return to the track, so why position your bike there? It was inevitable that it would lead to a collision; handle the corner more strategically."

In Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, the advice was clear: you're faster than both of them, so pull back and avoid the confrontation. The same principle applied in this situation.

"You noticed that Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when he veered off at Turn 12. You've observed that he is unaware of your presence. You understand that Turn 13 is a tight spot when you shift right. It's highly probable that Alex will be there."

"In my opinion, you need to be more strategic, especially when you're competing for the championship. I believe Alex should have been more aware of his surroundings and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back and look for another opportunity to make my move.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered that there was still enough time and thought, 'I can still make this happen later.'"

"Each time this has happened, Pecco has ended up in a bad position and has lost points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco about being more strategic when interacting with other riders. They should emphasize that finishing in 4th place is preferable to not earning any points at all."

"Pecco seems to occasionally have difficulty accepting the position available to him. In contrast, when you observe Martin over the last few weeks, he's accepted second place when that's what was achievable. As a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points."

Moreland responded, saying, “Pete, this situation is similar to what happened with Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans last season. The timing is unfortunate since Martin is performing flawlessly and consistently earning points."

McLaren commented on a topic everyone dislikes, which is team orders. He noted that it's inevitable to compare Sunday's race to previous years when other Ducati riders were aware they needed to allow the title contenders some extra space.

"Currently, there's some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough for us to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically out of contention and should therefore step aside."

"Pecco and Martin might believe that their lead in the championship will mean other Ducati riders will give them more space on the track. However, those other riders are still fully committed to competing fiercely for every spot, as they haven't received any instructions to do otherwise."

"Another point to consider is what advice you would give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are trailing the leading pair but still have a reasonable shot at catching up."

Duncan mentioned that Ducati should consider reviewing the situation for its own benefit. He expressed concern that if Alex Marquez were to clash again with Pecco Bagnaia, it could lead to a scenario where Martin gains more points, with Marc leading the race.

"It’s evident how hostile the fan base can become in such scenarios, believing things like ‘this happened, sabotage and so on’."

"Ducati should take a proactive approach by identifying their main title contenders and instructing other riders not to compete aggressively against them."

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

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

"That individual was clearly unhappy. It seemed as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is winning races—which they were initially concerned might disrupt the balance before permitting him to join Gresini—and Martin is ahead in the championship standings."

"They need to reflect on the fact that they could have retained both of those individuals in their team if the circumstances had been handled another way, and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac."

"Ducati has several issues to address in the coming weeks, and one crucial aspect is improving their management of the situation. Failure to do so could result in significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

Explore Further

Breaking News

Current Headlines

Website Directory

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to reproduce the text, photographs, or illustrations in whole or in part in any manner.