Francesco Bagnaia held off his future factory team-mate Enea Bastian༺ini by just 0.034s during an all-Italian showdown in Sunday’s San Marino🌠 Grand Prix.

But with Bagnaia now second in the world championship, will team orde♍rs prevent such all-Ducati battles in future?

൲Joining Bagnaia and Bastianini on the podium was Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales, confirming his upward trend on the RS-GP.

Meanwhile, it was a subdued race for world cha𒀰mpionship leader Fabio Qu😼artararo and Vinales’ team-mate Aleix Espargaro, who crossed the line fifth and sixth.

While the on-track drama went down to the chequered flag, the off-track controversy began on Thursday🍌, when rookie and reigning Moto2 champion Remy🦩 Gardner confirmed he had been dropped by KTM for 2023 and is thus out of MotoGP after just a single season.

The reason given by KTM, according to Gardner, was “he had not been professional enough”. KTM motorsport director Pit Beirer insisted he had no knowledge of such words but did hint at needing riders that fully be𓄧lieved in the factory’s MotoGP project.

. Paco isnt responsible for my KTM exit, and I fully trust in his professionalism and honesty. Together we will find a new project to continue enjoying this sport that I love so much.

— Remy Gardner #87 (@GardnerRemy)

“You ꦍcan read on social media that Wayne Gardner, dad of Remy, is off on one at the moment over this. I don’t blame h꧟im, being a dad myself.

"But even if you've got a [rider] manager that may have upset the management at KTM, who needs to be the bigger person in this? 𒈔The bigge🍸r company in this?

“Wheဣre are KTM and their management, calming this down so they're getting the best out of their current Moto2 world champion, who has been with them in MotoGP for just seven mont𒀰hs?

“Are they allowing this to get under their skin to the 💖point where we are talking about accusations of their rider, or his management, being unprofessional? Somebody needed to be the bigger person in the KTM corner here and take control of this.

“Riders say things in the heat of the moment - that's perfectly normal. M🌄ichael Laverty’s [VisionTrack Honda Moto3] riders were a bit grumpy at Silverstone and they made it known to the press.

“And Michael basically said, 'we want riders to be forthright. We understand sometimes em✃otions get ahead of you and you say things you shouldn't. But it's up to me to manage that gap between what they're saying and the corporate side of the team'.

“So the might of KTM, with the kind of talent they've got in a managerial situation, in my view - and it's only my view, I'd 🌄be interested to hear what everybody at home thinks - I feel that KTM have a certain percentage of blame for not managing the situation as well as they should as a corporation andඣ a team."

KTM denied calling Gardner ‘not professional enough’

wuqian0821.com Mo𓃲toGP editor Peter McLaren added: “Simon Crafar did a good interview with Pit Beirer at Misano, asking him about all this, and Pit insisted the KTM management hadn’t told Gardner he was ‘not professional enough’. So who exactly said what, we don’t know.

“Pit al♑so said that there had been an option on Remy’s contract that wasn’t taken up by KTM in June, therefore implying that Remy and his manager shouldn’t have been shocked to find there was no ride for next year.

“But option or not, Remy clearly believed the relationship with KTM was going to continue and there must have beꦑen a chance of that otherwise there would have been no need to inform him of their decision on Saturda🦩y in Austria.

“And now it’s too late to find something else, which also seemed to be what Remy❀ is particularly upset about.”

Keith Huewen said: “We all know KTM jump really quick. Look at what happened with Johann Zarco. They’re rut🀅hless, and that’s how it should be. This is a cutting-edg♋e business for all parties.

“Remy’s manager Paco Sanchez, who also manages Joan Mir, is not an idiot and I can’t b♐elieve he would have put Remy in a position where he allowed an option to disappear off the table and had no backup plan.

"There’s more to this story behind the scenes, but I think KTM have taken a v🥂ery ruthless line with Remy Gardner.

“It doesn't really matter what he said or how he feels, riders speak their minds and he needs his knuckles w🧸rapped if that's been the case. But it's down to the management of the team to fix that situation. And if they don't agree with his manager over the way he's negotiating with KTM, then that's a get-around-the-table type of thing.

“These guys are professionals. I don't understand how it got to this&nbs🍸p;stage without people talking and⛄ remedying whatever the problem is. It just seems ludicrous to me.

“Whatever the situation with Remy and his manager, I still contend that KTM should have been the bigger party in this, got control of the negotiations, got⭕ control of the circumstances and made something better of it than they did.

“Remy could find himself in gre𓆉at t𓄧rouble now. It’s a shame, he’s a good kid.”

Red Bull KTM Ajo's Moto2 title leader Augusto Fernandez is the rider expected to take Gardner's place along💛side Pol Espargaro next year.

Marc Marquez returns, Kalex swingarms at Repsol Honda?

As well as a recap o🔯f the Misano Moto2 and Moto3 ra🀅ces, Podcast host Harry Benjamin then brought up the findings of the recent MotoGP fan survey, before looking ahead to this week’s test and the return of Marc Marquez.

While Marquez’s comeback will be the big news on T🌞uesday, the test will also see pl𝕴enty of technical updates for this season and beyond.

“I had a Whatsapp message this morning from Gunther Wiesinger of , he’s got a goo📖d scoop on Kalex building swingarms for Repsol Honda,” McLaren said.

“It’s hard to underestimate how big a move that is by HRC, they do everything in-house. It just shows the scale of the situa༺tion they are currently in with their MotoGP project.

“So look ou💧t for some aluminium swingarms appearing on th𒊎e Hondas at the test, instead of the usual carbon fibre ones.”

Honda switc🐻hed from aluminium to carbon fibre swingarms during 2018.

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