**Title: Ducati’s Dilemma: Navigating Team Orders and Championship Controversies After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash**

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

Discussion: "Is there some uncertainty because the season hasn't progressed enough to tell other Ducati racers, 'you're no longer in contention, so hold back in such scenarios'?"

A contentious incident occurred late in the race on Sunday at the Aragon MotoGP, involving racers Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez. This clash resulted in both Ducati riders being eliminated from contention for a podium finish.

This also signified that Bagnaia, the current titleholder, came into Spain with a five-point lead but departed injured 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 highlight of the race was undoubtedly the fierce competition between Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez for a spot on the podium. Bagnaia seemed poised to overtake Marquez, and it appeared to be only a matter of time before he did. But then, an unexpected incident occurred."

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

“It was a disastrous weekend for Bagnaia, marking his worst performance since the Sprint format was introduced last year,” commented Pete McLaren, editor for Crash.net MotoGP.

“Nearly everything went awry for him, from the two tire problems to qualifying on the less favorable side of the track. To top it all off, he was involved in a collision when it seemed it was only a matter of time before he would secure third place from Alex Marquez.”

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and aiming to possibly stand alongside Marc on the podium during his remarkable return. Therefore, it’s understandable that he was reluctant to yield, and essentially, there just wasn't enough space for both of them."

"The issue now is, who noticed the other first? And who ought to have made more space? The Stewards decided not to take any additional measures. They mentioned reviewing some technical data, though the specifics remain unclear."

"The data aspect was intriguing because, after the decision, Pecco mentioned that the information indicated Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically anticipate from a rider involved in a crash."

“When two riders crash and they’re both using the same brand of bikes, the manufacturer has access to the data from both vehicles. Ducati definitely analyzed this information. We’re aware that they did the same thing after the Portimao incident, where Marc Marquez collided with Bagnaia. Marc made a casual remark to defuse the blame game, saying, ‘Ducati can review all the data…’

"Pecco is now claiming that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. But did the Stewards review this information too? Would their decision have been different if they had seen what Pecco says the data reveals? It's uncertain."

"Another helpful feature would have been a 'visor cam' perspective like the one we saw from Alex Rins during the private test at Misano, which showed exactly where each rider was looking."

"A racing event with significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from claiming the top points this weekend, and the most positive outcome is that both Pecco and Alex Marquez escaped without severe injuries."

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

“I’m going to challenge the data perspective a bit,” MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan remarked. “Whenever data is mentioned, I recall Honda in 2015, being confident they had evidence of Valentino kicking Marc and planning to reveal it publicly!”

“But if I were to assign blame, I would attribute slightly more to Pecco because this isn't the first time we've witnessed this behavior. It was evident in Portugal, and we also saw traces of it during the Sprint race at Jerez. Pecco appears to struggle with choosing the right moments to engage in battles.

In Portugal, we observed a similar situation with Marc. Even if you couldn't see him on the exterior, you knew he would re-enter, so why place your bike in that spot? It was inevitable that it would lead to a collision; you should handle the corner more skillfully.

"At Jerez, he found himself squeezed between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – you're faster than both, so pull back. Don't engage in the battle. It was the same situation this time."

It was evident that Alex didn’t check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex veered off course at Turn 12. It's clear that Alex is unaware of your presence. You’re aware that Turn 13 is a critical spot, especially when making a right turn. It’s highly probable that Alex will be there.

"In my view, you need to strategize more effectively, especially when you're in the running 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 attack.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still plenty of time. I can make my move later.'"

"Pecco has ended up in the worst position and lost points in every instance I've talked about. I believe Ducati needs to have a conversation with Pecco, advising him to be more strategic when interacting with other riders. They should tell him, 'It's better to finish in fourth place than to end up with no points at all.'"

"Pecco seems to occasionally have difficulty accepting the results available to him. On the other hand, Martin has consistently taken second place when it's within reach, leading to his current 23-point advantage in the championship standings."

Moreland responded by saying, "Pete, this situation is similar to what happened with Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans last season. It's unfortunate timing, especially since Martin has been performing consistently without errors and scoring points."

McLaren remarked, “This brings us to the dreaded topic of team orders. You can't avoid drawing parallels between Sunday and previous years when other Ducati riders understood they needed to provide the title contenders with some additional space.”

"There's some uncertainty right now because we're still early in the season. It's too soon to tell the other Ducati riders that they're out of the running and should step aside in this scenario."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, being frontrunners in the championship, their fellow Ducati riders will give them extra space on the track. However, those other riders are actually thinking, 'We haven't received any instructions, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

"Additionally, one must consider what advice to give Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing behind the top two but still possess a viable opportunity."

Duncan commented, “I believe Ducati should examine this issue for its own benefit. The last thing you want is for Alex Marquez to have another clash with Pecco Bagnaia, leading to a situation where Martin gains more points while Marc is leading the pack.”

"We've observed how extremely toxic the fan base can become in such scenarios, when they believe that 'this occurred due to sabotage, etc.'"

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

"Ducati is facing a worst-case scenario with Martin at the top of the championship. They can't afford to let Martin switch 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. He seemed burdened by something."

"That individual did not appear content. It seemed as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is securing victories—which initially caused some concern about disrupting the balance before he was permitted to join Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings."

“They need to consider that if the circumstances had been handled differently, and if Marc had been willing to join Pramac, both of those individuals could have been part of our team.”

"There are several issues Ducati must address in the upcoming weeks, and one key aspect is that they need to handle the current circumstances more effectively to avoid potential embarrassment by the end of the season."

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