In the wake of the Race of Champions incident at World Ducati Week, it has been suggested that Ducati must share the blame with Marc Marquez. The event saw Marquez nudge Nicolo Bulega into the gravel in the final moments of the showpiece race last weekend at Misano.
Marquez has acknowledged his responsibility for the collision, but questions have also been raised about Ducati’s role in the timing and organization of the event.
Neil Hodgson, analyzing for TNT Sports, explained: “It was World Ducati Week, where all the Ducati riders are invited as part of their contract. They turn up for a fun weekend that includes the Race of Champions. It’s a recipe for disaster! You put the best riders in the world from MotoGP, World Superbikes, and British Superbikes on brand-new Panigale V4s, creating a level playing field. They have two practice sessions, qualifying, and a race. In third was Nicolo Bulega, but Marc was closing on him. I thought: ‘Marc is going to attack on the last lap,’ which you’d expect in a race.”
Hodgson continued, “At Misano, with three corners to go, that’s the last overtaking opportunity. If you don’t pass before, it’s pretty much done. On the last two corners, you can’t overtake unless a rider makes a mistake. Bulega did make a mistake. He turned into the last corner, and Marc made a very aggressive block pass. There was contact, and he knocked Bulega flying. Marc finished third. Afterward, Ducati seemed embarrassed – ‘we didn’t want that to happen…’”
Hodgson added, “So who do you blame? Of course, Marc Marquez. But the quality of Marc, the champion in him, the attacker… that’s what he’s going to do. So who do you blame? You’ve got to blame Ducati for putting these guys out there! They are obviously competitive. Of course, there will be brave, dangerous, silly, wild moves.”
Sylvain Guintoli added: “This is a risky week to organize it, in the middle of the season. When you see how far behind Marc was Bulega at the last turn, you can’t do it. You just can’t. It’s a short braking zone. There is no room on the inside unless you already have the front wheel there. He came from five meters behind. It was, let’s say, a very late move…”
They did not intend for the Race of Champions at World Ducati Week to be a competitive event. Alvaro Bautista, for example, rode casually near the back to avoid any incidents. However, Guintoli warned, “It’s like a rugby match friendly, France vs. England. It’s not going to be friendly!”
Hodgson likened it to a ‘friendly’ football match: “Basically, Marc did a two-footed tackle! Studs up! Because the game wasn’t going according to plan for him. There’s no way that, on equal machinery, Marquez wanted Andrea Iannone and Nicolo Bulega to beat him. He wasn’t having it.”
Marquez admitted fault for the collision upon arriving at Silverstone for the British MotoGP. “I tried something there that I’m used to doing with the MotoGP bike but in the moment I didn’t understand that I was riding a street bike,” he said. “Even if it’s a really good bike, the reaction of the bike I didn’t expect and couldn’t stop well. It was a mistake. I cannot say anything more.”
Marquez will compete at Silverstone for qualifying and the sprint race at the British MotoGP on Saturday.
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