**Title:** Ducati’s Dilemma: Managing Internal Rivalries After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash at Aragon

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

Podcast: "Is there a level of uncertainty since it's early in the season to tell other Ducati riders that they are no longer in contention, and thus should hold back in such scenarios?"

A contentious incident between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the closing stages of the Aragon MotoGP on Sunday resulted in both Ducati riders losing their spots on the podium.

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

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

The main highlight of the race was the intense fight for a podium spot between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez. Bagnaia appeared to be on the verge of overtaking Marquez; it seemed inevitable. But then, an unexpected incident occurred.

“What did you think about it? It seems to have happened not too long ago. Clearly, both riders are pointing fingers at each other…”

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

Nearly everything went awry for him: the two tire problems, starting on the less favorable side of the track during qualifying, and to top it all off, a collision occurred right when it seemed inevitable that he would overtake Alex Marquez for 3rd place.

Alex was clearly eager to perform well in front of his home crowd and was aiming to share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Understandably, he wasn't willing to relinquish his position, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both riders.

"The issue now is, who spotted whom? And who was responsible for providing more space? The Stewards decided there would be no additional measures. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, though the specifics remain unclear."

“The data aspect was intriguing because, after the verdict, Pecco mentioned that the data indicated Alex might not have reduced his speed as much as one would typically expect in a crash.

"When two riders who are part of an incident are using the same type of motorcycles, the manufacturer has access to the data for both. This is precisely what Ducati would have reviewed. It’s known that they did this following the Portimao event, where Marc Marquez and Bagnaia had a collision. Marc Marquez diffused the blame debate by casually mentioning, 'Ducati can see all the data…'"

“Pecco claims that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards review this data too? If they had seen what Pecco mentions, would it have altered their decision? It's uncertain.”

"Another helpful feature could have been a 'visor cam' perspective, similar to what we saw with Alex Rins during the private test at Misano, to understand where each rider was focusing their attention."

"A racing event occurred with significant consequences. Pecco benefited from Marc preventing Martin from earning full points this weekend, and the most positive update is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez avoided major injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked, "I'll challenge the data perspective for a moment, as I always recall Honda in 2015. They were so sure they had data proving that Valentino had kicked Marc and were ready to present it to everyone!"

"But if I had to assign blame, I would place a bit more on Pecco. We've witnessed this behavior previously. It was evident in Portugal and somewhat noticeable during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing his battles wisely."

“We observed a similar situation with Marc in Portugal. Even if you couldn't see him from the outside, you could anticipate his return, so why position your motorcycle there? It's obvious that would lead to a collision. You should navigate the corner more skillfully.”

"At Jerez, when he was squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – you have more speed than both of them, so ease off. Don't engage in the battle. The situation was similar this time."

"You observed that Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. It’s clear that he’s unaware of your presence. You’re aware that Turn 13 is a tricky spot, especially when making the right turn. And it’s highly probable that Alex will still be in that area."

"I believe it's crucial to strategize more effectively, particularly when you're in contention for the championship. In my view, Alex should have checked behind and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll step back and try to regain my position later.' Similarly, Pecco could have considered, 'There's still time on the clock. I can achieve it.'"

Pecco has consistently found himself at a disadvantage and has lost points in each of the incidents I've referenced. I believe Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco to emphasize the importance of choosing his confrontations wisely. They should advise him that securing a 4th place finish is preferable to ending up with no points at all.

"Occasionally, Pecco seems to have difficulty accepting the position available to him. In contrast, Martin, in recent weeks, has been content with finishing in second place when that's been the best option. 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 at Le Mans with Bagnaia and Vinales. It's particularly unfortunate timing since Martin is performing consistently and accumulating points without errors."

McLaren commented, "This brings us to the issue everyone dislikes – team orders. It's hard not to draw parallels between Sunday's race and previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to allow the title contenders a bit of extra space."

"There's some uncertainty right now because it's too early in the season to tell the other Ducati riders that they're mathematically out of contention and should therefore step aside in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that their lead in the championship will result in other Ducati riders giving them more space. However, those other riders are still operating under the mindset that no instructions have been given, so they are competing fiercely for every position."

The next question is what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly behind the leading two but still have a fair shot.

Duncan remarked, "I believe Ducati should examine this issue for its own benefit. The last thing they need is for Alex Marquez to clash with Pecco Bagnaia again, which could lead to Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

"We've observed how the fan base can become quite toxic in those circumstances, believing things like 'this occurred, sabotage and so on'."

"Ducati must take the lead and declare: ‘These are our title contenders. These are the riders who have the potential to win the championship. If you're not among them, do not compete aggressively against them’."

"It's a scenario Ducati dreads: Martin leading the championship. They absolutely cannot allow Martin to switch to Aprilia while holding 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 did not seem content. It was as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco is off the track, Marc is securing victories—which initially concerned them about disrupting the balance before permitting him to join Gresini—and Martin is ahead in the championship standings."

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

"In my opinion, Ducati has quite a few issues to address in the upcoming weeks. One key area is their situation management, as failure to improve in this aspect could lead to significant embarrassment by the end of the season."

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