The Race MotoGP Podcast

As the excitement builds for the new MotoGP season, and with testing complete, Matt Beer, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy answer questions from our audience about the upcoming season - and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo's annoyance at the bike Yamaha has provided him with for his title defence got even louder at the final pre-season test in Mandalika. Is it just a negotiating tactic for a pay rise or a longer contract? Or would Quartararo really walk out on Yamaha? Is Pol Espargaro's Honda seat vulnerable if he does so? And does he risk burning bridges with the team behind h...

With an Aprilia 1-2 on day one and an older-spec Ducati run by an independent team fastest on day two, MotoGP's first 2022 pre-season test wasn't short on surprises. Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy join host Matt Beer to go beneath the headline times to make sense of what went on at Sepang last weekend. They explain why Aprilia and Enea Bastianini/Gresini's headline times are much more si...

After two years of restricted development amid the pandemic, this winter MotoGP teams have finally had chance to properly get stuck in on tackling problems that in some cases they've been grappling with since the end of 2019. So as the field hits the track for Sepang testing, The Race MotoGP Podcast looks at what to expect, which teams' bikes will have changed most and who has most riding on the c...

The Race MotoGP podcast welcomes special guest Danilo Petrucci in its latest edition, as the Italian discusses his first attempt at the Dakar Rally. Petrucci, a two-time race winner in grand prix racing's premier class, left MotoGP at the end of last season but was set up with a shot at the Dakar by employer KTM - which yielded a stage win and several other standout performances. Joining host Toby...

Marc Marquez was a last-minute addition to a Honda media event last week, and during his time answering questions on his recovery from his latest injuries, he opened up a great deal. Guest host Matt Beer discusses what Marquez told us with Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy, plus what we should expect from him after another winter of recovery, and the importance of Honda making a big step wi...

For our first episode of 2022 we're switching our attention to 2023... in line with the series' tendency to finalise rider contracts a year in advance. Host Matt Beer - filling in for Toby Moody, away on Dakar Rally duties - is joined by Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy to discuss the biggest question marks of the impending 2023 rider market. With only three riders signed through '23, the...

It's fitting to end the year by saying goodbye and thank you to Valentino Rossi with our final episode of 2021. Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy reflect on the great Italian's journey through grand prix racing, from his early days in 125s and 250s, to how he took MotoGP by storm. We look back on the successes, the failures, the rivalries, the mad celebrations, the injuries, and...

A key move behind the scenes in MotoGP this winter is KTM's decision to replace longstanding team manager Mike Leitner with Pramac Ducati's Francesco Guidotti, after a disappointing season for the Austrian manufacturer, which failed to build on the progress it made in 2020. Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy discuss what the move means for both teams, and assess how much KTM has...

Ranking the top 10 riders of the 2021 season is the mission in our latest episode. But with panel Toby Moody, Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer having all put forward their own individual top 10s to create our definitive rating, there's plenty of passionate debate over who ended up where once everyone's scores were factored in. And the end result is a top 10 with a very different...

Every MotoGP manufacturer was in action at Jerez last week for the traditional post-season test, which serves as a starting point for preparations for the new season. Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy cover all the major talking points, from Ducati's early warning shot, concern for 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo, and what sort of shape Honda is in despite Marc Marquez having to...

Valentino Rossi's farewell and Ducati's ominous performance at the Valencian GP are discussed in our latest episode. Host Toby Moody is joined by Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy to discuss the MotoGP sign-offs enjoyed by Rossi and compatriot Danilo Petrucci. They then offer their takes on whether the fears of Ducati dominance in 2022 on the back of its incredible form in the 2021 run-in a...

After another victory for Pecco Bagnaia and Ducati, in a race with five Ducatis in the top nine positions, Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy look at what this could mean for the Italian marque's title prospects in 2022. We also explain why it was the correct decision to red flag the Portimao race late on, and look at a rare error from newly-crowned champion Fabio Quartararo. Tal...

The post-Emilia Romagna Grand Prix edition of The Race MotoGP podcast discusses Fabio Quartararo's day of glory at Misano and the riders who are best poised to challenge him in 2022. Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy join host Toby Moody for a customary overview of the weekend's premier-class action, as well as the extravagant title celebrations that were due to be postponed until Francesco...

The post-Grand Prix of the Americas edition of The Race MotoGP podcast delves into the controversies that dominated the COTA weekend, along with analysing Marc Marquez's second win of the season. While the 20-lap MotoGP showdown on Sunday proved relatively serene, it came after a weekend in which the possibility of a race boycott was breached, and also followed a few hours after a massive Moto3 cr...

The post-San Marino Grand Prix edition of The Race MotoGP podcast centres on the battle between Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo. Jack Miller's role in helping Bagnaia win the Misano battle is flagged up, even if the Italian remains unlikely to win the war given Quartararo's 48-point advantage. There's also a chat about Suzuki's season given the latest frustrating outing for Joan Mir and Ale...

After the stunning battle for victory between Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez at Aragon, Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy look at what the outcome told us about both riders and how the hierarchy of talent at Ducati is shifting. There's also discussion of why Fabio Quartararo was off the pace, how he limited the damage to his championship lead, a sense of frustration for reigning...

Is the 2021 MotoGP title race now over? Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy reflect on a commanding victory for Fabio Quartararo and discuss all the other major talking points from the Silverstone weekend, including Aprilia's first podium, whether Pol Espargaro's pole position was a sign of a genuine turnaround, and what his Honda team-mate Marc Marquez was doing when he clumsily...

The Austrian Grand Prix was decided in a tense and at times terrifying final couple of laps, as riders who had switched to wet-weather tyres hunted down those who stayed out on slicks - and could barely keep their bikes upright - when the rain hit. Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy discuss all the major talking points from the second weekend at the Red Bull Ring, including how B...

A major shock ran through the MotoGP paddock in Austria on Thursday when it was revealed Yamaha had suspended its rider Maverick Vinales due to “unexplained irregular operation of the motorcycle by the rider during last weekend” in the Styrian GP. Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy get together for a special episode of The Race MotoGP Podcast to discuss what's going on. Hosted on...

MotoGP returned from its summer break with the first of two back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring. Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy discuss all the major talking points from a busy weekend on and off track, including the rise of Pramac from plucky underdog to race winner with the sensational Jorge Martin, if Suzuki's vital upgrade can get Joan Mir back into title contention,...

The day has finally come: Valentino Rossi announced ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix that he will call time on his MotoGP career at the end of the 2021 season. Toby Moody, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy discuss the Italian's decision, look back at some of the moments that defined his iconic career, and look ahead to what to expect from the remaining races of his career. Hosted on Acast. S...

MotoGP returns from its summer break with a double head in Austria. Toby Moody is joined by Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy to look ahead to the rest of the season, working out if anyone can challenge Fabio Quartararo for the title, who we can expect to pick up race wins over the rest of the year, and if Marc Marquez will come back from a few weeks off having taken another step forward wi...

Suzuki won its first title at the top level in MotoGP for two decades last year, as Joan Mir was the man to capitalise on Marc Marquez's absence to take his first championship. This year Marquez is back and not at his dominant best, but another Suzuki title appears increasingly unlikely. Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy join guest host Glenn Freeman to look at the factors behind what seems...

Livio Suppo has the remarkable achievement on his CV as a MotoGP team boss of tasting championship glory with two manufacturers. The Italian was the man in charge of Ducati when it decided to enter grand prix racing for 2003, and he took the red bikes through a rollercoaster first few years until everything came good with Casey Stoner in 2007. In the years that followed he would switch to Honda, w...