**Title: Ducati’s Dilemma: How the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez Clash Highlights the Need for Team Orders and Strategic Clarity**

Should Ducati intervene following the Bagnaia-Alex Marquez clash?

Podcast: “Is it somewhat unclear because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders; ‘you're no longer in contention, so hold back in such scenarios’?”

On Sunday at the Aragon MotoGP, a contentious collision in the final moments of the race involving Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez resulted in both Ducati riders missing out on a podium finish.

This also implied that, after coming to Spain with a five-point lead in the championship, the defending champion Bagnaia departed injured and 23 points behind Jorge Martin.

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

"The race had everyone buzzing about the intense duel between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a podium finish. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez; it appeared inevitable. But then, an unexpected event unfolded."

“What do you think about the situation? I believe it happened not too long ago. Clearly, each cyclist is pointing fingers at the other…”

“A disastrous weekend for Bagnaia. He recorded his worst point tally in an event since the Sprint format was introduced last year,” responded Pete McLaren, MotoGP editor at Crash.net.

"Nearly everything went awry for him: he faced two tire problems, started from the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, got into a collision just when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place."

Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his home crowd and was aiming to possibly stand on the podium alongside Marc during his remarkable return. Understandably, he was reluctant to surrender his position, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both riders.

The issue at hand is determining who observed whom and who should have provided more space. The Stewards decided not to take any additional measures. They mentioned that they reviewed certain machine data, but the specifics of this data remain unclear.

"The data aspect was intriguing, as Pecco mentioned post-decision that the data suggested Alex perhaps didn't slow down as much as one might anticipate in a collision situation."

"When two riders collide while riding the same type of bikes, the manufacturer has access to the data for both. That's precisely what Ducati would have checked. We know they performed a similar analysis after the incident at Portimao, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia crashed. Marc tried to defuse the blame game by casually mentioning, 'Ducati can see all the data…'"

"Pecco is now claiming that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. But did the Stewards have access to this information too? If they had reviewed what Pecco says the data reveals, would their decision have been different? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful feature could have been a 'visor cam' perspective, similar to what we saw with Alex Rins during the private Misano test, to see 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. The good news is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez escaped without serious injuries."

Moreland asked, "Lewis, what do you think about this?"

“I’m going to challenge the data perspective for a moment. Whenever someone mentions data, my mind goes back to Honda in 2015. They were absolutely convinced they had data proving Valentino kicked Marc and were ready to present it to everyone!” stated MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan.

"However, if I were to assign blame, I would attribute a bit more of it to Pecco. This isn't the first time we've observed such behavior from him. Similar instances occurred in Portugal and to a lesser extent during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles."

"We witnessed a similar situation with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, you knew he would re-enter the track. So why would you place your bike in that position? It was bound to result in a collision. You should navigate the corner more strategically."

In Jerez, when he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – you're faster than both of them, so back off. Don't engage in a battle. The same advice applies here.

"You noticed Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was behind Alex when Alex veered off at Turn 12. You observed that he is unaware of your presence. You are aware that Turn 13 is a tight spot when you switch to the right. And it's highly probable that Alex will be there."

"In my view, you need to be more strategic, particularly when you're contending for a championship. I believe Alex should have checked his rear and considered, 'This is going to be close. I'll step back and look for another opportunity to regain my position.' Similarly, Pecco should have thought, 'There's still enough time. I can make my move later.'"

“In each instance I’ve referred to, Pecco has ended up suffering the most and has lost points as a result. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco and advise him to be more strategic when interacting with other riders. They should stress that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending a race without any points.”

"It seems that Pecco occasionally finds it challenging to accept the position he can achieve. In contrast, Martin has consistently accepted second place when it's been available to him over the past few weeks. 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 also unfortunate timing since Martin is performing well and consistently scoring points."

McLaren commented, "This naturally brings us to the topic we all dislike: team orders. It's hard not to draw comparisons between Sunday and previous years when it was understood that other Ducati riders had to allow more space for the championship contenders."

"Currently, there's some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're no longer in contention and should therefore hold back in such situations."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, since they are leading the championship, other Ducati riders will give them more space on the track. However, those other riders are likely thinking, 'We haven't received any instructions to hold back, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

The next point to consider is what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly behind the leading pair but still have a viable shot.

Duncan commented, "In my opinion, Ducati should really consider this situation for its own benefit. The last thing they need is for Alex Marquez to clash again with Pecco Bagnaia, leading to Jorge Martin gaining more points while Marc Marquez is leading the race."

"We've observed how toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios when they start believing 'this happened, sabotage, and so on'."

"Ducati should take the lead and declare: 'These are the contenders for the title. These are the riders who can win the championship. If you’re not among them, don’t push them too hard in races.'"

"Ducati is facing a major dilemma with Martin currently heading the championship standings. The worst-case scenario for them would be allowing Martin to switch to Aprilia while holding the top position."

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

"He did not seem pleased at all. It was as though he saw the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is winning races—which was a concern about disrupting balance before they let him join Gresini—and Martin is ahead in the championship standings."

"They need to consider that if circumstances had been handled differently and Marc had been willing to join Pramac, we could have had both riders on our team."

A lot of things need Ducati's attention in the upcoming weeks, and one crucial aspect is that they need to handle the situation more effectively, or they might face embarrassment by the season's end.

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