Ducati boss shares ‘team orders’ decision for Sunday's Valencia MotoGP
The reigning champion saw his 21-point advantage whittled down to 14 points after Saturday’s sprint race, which title rival Jorge Martin won.
Bagnaia begins the grand prix on Sunday from second, Martin from sixth.
The role of the other six Ducati riders could be a factor in deciding the title.
Ducati’s Davide Tardozzi was asked if he would implement team orders to help Bagnaia, but said: “No.
“There have never been team orders last year or this year.
“Whatever the riders do - like Marquez or Zarco in Qatar, saying they prefer not to fight with Martin - maybe today somebody will decide not to fight with Pecco.
“There are no team orders in Ducati. Riders are able to decide whatever they want.”
Pramac’s Gino Borsoi insisted that the title scrap has been fair so far - including Martin’s aggressiveness on Saturday.
“Everybody is fighting in a fair way,” Borsoi said. “Even Jorge made a fair attack.
“It was all professional. I have to say thankyou to them.”
'Bagnaia is pissed off'
Tardozzi was left disappointed by Saturday’s sprint result.
“It was a tough day, we expected more after the morning session and qualifying,” he said.
“Fifth is the minimum that we can accept.
“Jorge did a fantastic race and deserved the win. We will try to do better tomorrow.
“Pecco is pissed off because he didn’t find the confidence to find the podium.
“It was tough but correct. Martin was in a rush, looking to Vinales who was pulling away.
“The right choice was the rear soft tyre. The first three made the difference. Whoever chose the medium maybe made a mistake, it was more slow at the end of the race.
“We’ll see what the choice is [on Sunday].”
Borsoi said about Martin: “It is clear that he’s the best rider at sprint races. We are happy because we closed the gap again, again, again…
“We are still alive.
“Now we’re there. We are fighting again.
“Sunday is always different. Our pace was good [on Saturday]. At the moment we have a good balance with the setup, Jorge said the bike was perfect.
“If you have this feeling, we are strong enough to win.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
