**Title: Ducati’s Dilemma: Should Team Orders Be Enforced After Bagnaia-Marquez Clash?**

Should Ducati intervene following the Bagnaia and Alex Marquez clash?

Podcast: "Is the situation unclear because the season hasn't progressed enough for Ducati to tell their other riders, 'you're no longer in contention, so hold back in such scenarios'?"

The contentious incident between Francesco Bagnaia and Alex Marquez during the closing stages of Sunday's Aragon MotoGP resulted in both Ducati racers losing their chance at securing a spot on the podium.

This also implied that reigning champion Bagnaia, who came to Spain with a five-point lead in the title race, departed the country injured and trailing Jorge Martin by 23 points.

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

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

"What are your thoughts on the matter? It seems to have happened not too long ago. Clearly, every rider is pointing fingers at one another…"

"A dreadful weekend for Bagnaia. This is his poorest performance in an event since the introduction of the Sprint format last year," stated Pete McLaren, the MotoGP editor for Crash.net.

"Nearly everything that could go wrong did for him: he faced two tire problems, ended up qualifying on the less favorable side of the track, and to top it all off, he collided when it seemed inevitable that he would take 3rd place from Alex Marquez."

"Clearly, Alex was competing in front of his local supporters and was aiming to possibly share the podium with Marc during his remarkable return. Understandably, he was not willing to yield, and ultimately, there simply wasn't enough space for both of them."

The issue now is, who spotted whom first? And who was responsible for making more space? The Stewards decided not to take any further steps. They mentioned reviewing certain machine data, though the specifics remain unclear.

"But the information gathered was intriguing. After the decision, Pecco stated that the data suggested Alex might not have slowed down as much as one would typically anticipate from a rider involved in a crash."

"When an incident involves two riders on the same brand of motorcycles, the manufacturer can access the data for both bikes. This is precisely what Ducati would have done. It's known that they took this approach after the Portimao collision between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia. In that incident, Marc Marquez made a brief statement to address the question of fault, saying, 'Ducati can see all the data…'"

"Pecco claims that the data indicates he wasn't at fault. Did the Stewards have access to this information too? Could their decision have been different if they had reviewed the data Pecco mentions? It's uncertain."

"It would have been helpful to have the 'visor cam' perspective we saw from Alex Rins during the private Misano test, so we could see where each rider was focusing their gaze!"

"A racing mishap occurred, but it had significant consequences. Pecco was fortunate that Marc prevented Martin from securing the highest points this weekend. The most positive aspect is that neither Pecco nor Alex Marquez sustained serious injuries."

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

MotoGP journalist Lewis Duncan commented, "I want to challenge the reliance on data for a moment. Whenever data is mentioned, I can't help but recall Honda in 2015. They were so certain they had evidence showing Valentino had kicked Marc and were ready to present it to everyone!"

"But if I were to assign blame, I'd place a bit more of it on Pecco because we've observed this behavior previously. It happened in Portugal and was somewhat evident 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, it was clear he would re-enter the track. So why position your bike there? It was inevitable that would lead to a collision; you should navigate the turn more wisely."

"At Jerez, when he ended up between Bezzecchi and Brad Binder – you're faster than both of them, so pull back. Don't engage in a battle. It was a similar situation with this one."

"You noticed that Alex didn't check his surroundings. He was trailing Alex when Alex went off track at Turn 12. You observed that he wasn't aware of your presence. You know that Turn 13 is a tight spot, especially when you make the right-hand turn. It's highly probable that Alex will be in that area."

"In my opinion, you need to approach the game more strategically, particularly if you're contending for a championship. I would suggest that Alex should have checked his position and thought, 'This is going to be close. I'll pull back and try to regain my position later.' Similarly, Pecco should have considered, 'There's still time left. I can accomplish this.'"

The speaker pointed out that in each of the situations described, Pecco ended up in a disadvantageous position, losing valuable points. The suggestion was made that Ducati should have a conversation with Pecco, advising him to be more strategic when interacting with other racers. Specifically, they should emphasize the importance of sometimes settling for a 4th place finish rather than risking everything and ending up with no points at all.

“It seems that Pecco occasionally finds it difficult to accept the position available to him. In contrast, Martin has consistently accepted second place in recent weeks when that was the best he could achieve. As a result, he now leads the championship by 23 points.”

Moreland responded, "Pete, this situation brings to mind the event involving Bagnaia and Vinales at Le Mans last season. It's unfortunate timing because Martin is performing consistently and accumulating points."

McLaren addressed the issue everyone dislikes, saying, "This brings us to the topic of team orders." He noted that comparing last Sunday to previous years, it's clear that other Ducati riders used to provide more space to those competing for the championship.

"There's some uncertainty right now since the season isn't advanced enough to tell the other Ducati riders that they're statistically out of contention and should therefore hold back in such scenarios."

"Perhaps Pecco and Martin believe that, being leaders in the championship race, they'll be granted more leeway by their fellow Ducati riders. However, those teammates are likely thinking, 'We've received no such instructions, so we're still competing fiercely for every spot.'"

"Next, consider what advice you would give to Marc Marquez and Bastianini, who are slightly trailing the top two but still have a viable shot at success."

Duncan commented: "In my opinion, Ducati should definitely review this situation for its own benefit. The last thing they want is for Alex Marquez to clash with Pecco Bagnaia again, which could result in Martin gaining more points while Marc leads the race."

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

"Ducati should take the lead and declare: 'These are our contenders for the title. These are the riders who can secure the championship. If you aren't among them, don't compete aggressively against them.'"

A source close to the situation expressed, "It's a scenario we hope to avoid, but it’s a disastrous outcome for Ducati if Martin, who is currently topping the championship, were to 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. It seemed like he was carrying a heavy burden."

“He did not seem pleased at all. It seemed as though he observed the situation and thought: Pecco has crashed, Marc is winning races—which was a concern for them before they permitted him to join Gresini—and Martin is at the top of the championship standings.”

"They must consider that, with better management and Marc's willingness to join Pramac, both of those racers could have been part of our team."

“There are several things Ducati must address in the upcoming weeks, and one key aspect is improving their handling of the current situation to avoid potential embarrassment by the season's end.”

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