Bagnaia Accused Of Using Team Order, Ducati Firmly Denies: Theory Without Evidence

JAKARTA - Ducati has firmly denied the rumors of a team order that recently hit Francesco Bagnaia in the title race this season. Ducati calls it just a theory without proof.

Bagnaia will undergo a duel to determine the champion with Fabio Quartararo at the Valencia MotoGP, Sunday, November 6. Currently, the rider who is familiarly called Pecco is leading the standings with a 23-point advantage over Quartararo.

Having fallen behind by 91 points in the middle of the season, the Italian now only needs two additional points to lock up the world title. If successful it will be Bagnaia's first title in the primary class.

However, there is slanted news that accompanies Bagnaia's journey. He is accused of having the advantage of team orders from Ducati and this issue has been widely discussed in recent weeks, especially since the Thai MotoGP earlier last month.

Quoted from Crash, rumors of a team order overshadowed Bagnaia because while in Thailand the Pramac Ducati rider, Johann Zarco 'looked reluctant' to fight with Bagnaia in the race for the podium. In the Malaysian MotoGP race, Bagnaia was also called 'given way' by Gresini Ducati rider Enea Bastianini to win.

Regarding that, Ducati reacted strongly through Paolo Ciabatti as Director of Sport. Ciabatti assessed that those who scorned Bagnaia simply did not like Valentino Rossi's student and the theory circulating also lacked evidence.

"Let's analyze the facts. Bastianini was still fighting for victory until the very last moment at Misano, and he did it in Aragon. (Jack) Miller won in Japan and finished above Pecco in Thailand," Ciabatti said.

"If there had been a team order, we would have asked Miller to slow down at Buriram, but we didn't because he was chasing the win. Even at Sepang yesterday, Enea was still chasing the win. She was in front until Pecco overtook her again."

"For me, it's like a debate that arose at the start of the season and there was never any objective evidence regarding it," explained Ciabatti.