Ducati told to share Marc Marquez’s blame after “recipe for disaster” incident

Ducati must share the blame with Marc Marquez for the Race of Champions incident, it has been suggested.

Marquez’s first World Ducati Week saw him nudge Nicolo Bulega into the gravel in the final moments of the showpiece event last weekend at Misano.

Marquez has since held his hands up for the collision - but eyebrows should also be raised at Ducati’s timing.

“Do you know who I blame? I’ll explain what happened,” Neil Hodgson analysed on TNT Sports.

“It was World Ducati Week, where all the Ducati riders are invited. It’s part of their contract.

“They turn up, it’s a fun weekend, they have 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], you give them the brand-new Panigale V4 so it’s 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’ like you’d expect him to do in a race.

“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, you can’t overtake unless a rider makes a mistake.

“Bulega did make a mistake. He turned into the last corner, Marc did a very aggressive block pass. There was contact, and he knocked him flying. Marc finished third.

“After, it was almost embarrassing for Ducati - ‘we didn’t want that to happen…’

“I smile to myself. Who’s to 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. That’s the way I saw it.”

Sylvain Guintoli replied: “This is a risky week to organise 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 metres behind.

It was, let’s say, a very late move…”

The Race of Champions at World Ducati Week was not supposed to be a competitive event.

Alvaro Bautista, for example, made his intentions clear by riding casually near the back.

But 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 to be beaten by Andrea Iannone and Nicolo Bulega. He wasn’t having it.”

Marquez admitted fault for last week’s collision when he arrived 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 is in action at Silverstone for qualifying and the sprint race at the British MotoGP on Saturday.