MotoPod

Jim and Rich return to start off the new season of race reviews! The guys cover the news about the tire pressure sensors, the Daytona 200 where Jim goes into storytelling mode and report on all three classes. In the Manic Moto3 class Alonso makes a great last lap, last corner pass to win. In Moto2 the lack of dry running on the new Perillis caused the race to be jumbled up. The medium tires dropped off like a rock and the soft was the correct tire to be on. The question is will normal service resume at the next round? And in MotoGp Martin took a Sprint victory and Pecco claimed the main event but Binder and Marc sure made things exciting! Oh and the guys spend a lot of time talking about some new rookie named Pedro Acosta. Acosta's ride was brilliant but troubled by the lack of knowledge of the "Aero" effect and tire degradation. All in all a great weekend of racing!

In this second episode from Lusail, Martin chats with LCR Honda team boss Lucio Cecchinello and gets pre-season thoughts from Maddi & Simon Patterson as well as a catch up with ex-MotoPod host and (now) HRC Head of PR, Marketing & Sponsorship, Harry Lloyd. Please subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks to all of our loyal listeners and supporters and thanks also to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

Part one of the Lusail pre-season MotoGP test chats with occasional host and MotoPod legend Martin Darlington. In this first part, Martin gets to chat with Red Bull GasGas Tech3 rider Augusto Fernandez, followed by Repsol Honda teamsters Joan Mir and Luca Marini. Fascinating insights as always. Next up for part two will be Lucio Cecchinello, Maddi & Simon Patterson and another former host and legend of the show, none other than Martin’s old sparring partner Mr Harry Lloyd (also of the Repsol Honda Team). Stand by and stay tuned. Please subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks to all of our loyal listeners and supporters and thanks also to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

Ahead of the new season commencing in Qatar, Jim and Rich catch up to discuss pre-season testing in Sepang and Lusail. There’s much to discuss as new bikes, riders and combos hit the track in anger so strap in for news and predictions plus a few other bits and pieces from the world of international motorcycle racing. As mentioned, do please check out friend of the show Maddi Patterson’s new team Sekhmet Racing which will be competing this year in the new FIM Women’s Motorcycling World Championship. Please subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks to all of our loyal listeners and supporters and thanks also to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

Grace from the Parc Fermé Podcast (www.theparcferme.com) joins Jim to talk about what MotoGP can do to attract more eyes to the sport. Grace has witnessed the rise of F1 in the United States and her insight into what made her a fan of MotoGP is very interesting. We discuss the fan surveys that MotoGP did and talk about getting MotoGP onto a major media platform in the US as a way to increase viewership. We also talk about access to the riders and the fan experience while at a race. They also throw out some ideas on technical segments that could be added between the Moto2 qualifying and the MotoGP sprint races. It's a unique inside to the sport that we love. Also Jim found a link to the Freddie Spencer show where he races a car and a street bike around Laguna Seca. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bKy99TIMa8

Happy New Year! Jim and Rich get together for their first podcast of 2024! The guys start out by talking through a little bit of news and then turn their attention to a review of the 2023 season. Plus Jim puts out a call for a Moto America co-host! If interested please email [email protected]. Lastley please remember to like and subscribe to the show!

In this, the final collection of chats from last November’s Qatar MotoGP round, Rich catches up with the following paddock personalities: (0:44), Simon Patterson, (10:39) Stuart Higgs, (16:51) Toni Elias, (18:17) Bjorn Estment, (23:27) Randy Mamola & (25:13) John Hopkins. As mentioned in the chat with Simon, he has a website where you can go to donate funds or bid on motorcycle racing gear, all of which is aimed at providing much needed medical equipment for the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Please head over to https://linktr.ee/racingforukraine and contribute if you can. Hopefully these Qatar specials, along with other race event content captured in 2023, provide a glimpse of the direction we want to take MotoPod in for 2024 and beyond, alongside our regular race review chats. In order to achieve this, we need your support so please subscribe and become a Patreon if you can; you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/MotoPod Thanks to all of our loyal listeners and supporters and thanks also to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

Part 3 of the Qatar MotoGP specials see’s Rich talking with a number of the team bosses, primarily LCR Honda’s Lucio Cecchinello. In order we have: (0:35) Lucio Cecchinello, (21:17) Paolo Ciabatti, (26:28) Davide Tardozzi, (27:13) Francesco Guidotti & (30:28) Razlan Razali. Lucio has appeared on MotoPod before so it was great to speak with him at length again. We are hugely thankful to Lucio and to team press officer Irene for setting this up. The other interviews were impromptu but demonstrate how open and accommodating the MotoGP paddock and participants were. Although RNF are no longer in the MGP series (being replaced in 2024 by Trackhouse Racing) nevertheless Razlan Razali was incredibly accommodating and provided valuable insights on the riders who will continue on the satellite Aprilia’s with Trackhouse in the 2024 season. Once again, thanks to the teams and to Dorna Sports for the time and generosity given to MotoPod. We will look forward to being back in a MotoGP paddock soon. Please subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks to all of our loyal listeners and supporters and thanks also to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

In part 2 of the Qatar MotoGP special recorded back in November, Rich speaks to a whole host of riders from the 3 classes. The chats involve all manner of topics, ranging from aspects of their careers, performances in the 2023 championship, penalties and of course a look forward to 2024, particularly for those moving up a class. The teams and riders were incredibly generous with their time and a pleasure to meet so thanks to all involved and thanks again to Dorna Sports for their valuable assistance in providing MotoPod with access to the Lusail International Circuit paddock. It’s a long show! In order of sequence, we have: (0:35) Iker Lecuona, (11:44) Taka Nakagami, (23:18) Jake Dixon, (33:11) Fermin Aldeguer, (39:05) Sam Lowes, (52:57) Alonso Lopez, (58:18) Joe Roberts, (01:07:08) Sergio Garcia, (01:14:16) Collin Veijer, (01:21:54) Ajumu Sasaki, (01:29:00) Deniz Oncu, (01:42:52) Josh Whatley & (01:49:33) Scott Ogden. Phew!! Please subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks to all of our loyal listeners and supporters and thanks also to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

For show 752 we catch up with a number of previously unreleased interviews captured during the 2023 season. First up (0:56) Jim speaks with Moto America’s Jake Gagne from the Pitt race in August. Next up are a selection of talks from Rich at the penultimate BSB round at Donington Park in September: (11:32) McAMS Yamaha boss Steve Rodgers, (14:09) Lucca Allen from Team FR89 and Team SBR Kawasaki rider Carl Harris, (27:47) Asher Durham of G&S Racing and (31:07) Oxford Products Racing Ducati’s British SuperSport champion Ben Currie. The show rounds out (33:45) with Rich speaking to Aruba.IT Racing Ducati rider coach and multiple WSBK race winner Chaz Davies at the Donington Park World Superbike round back in June. Please subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks to all of our loyal listeners and supporters and thanks also to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

As we start MotoPod’s off-season specials, we are pleased to bring you the first of several interviews from the penultimate round of the MotoGP World Championship at Lusail International Circuit. This episode brings us the irrepressible Hervé Poncharal, boss of Red Bull KTM Tech3. It’s a while since Hervé was last on the pod (see Episode 330) so there was much to cover. So much so in fact that he and Rich spoke on Saturday and Sunday! Hervé was extremely generous with his time, so a huge thanks to him for this long overdue chat with MotoPod. Please like and subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. These Qatar specials were made possible with the generous assistance of Dorna Sports, for which we are extremely grateful. Thanks also to show partner Roadskin. Enjoy……Zoom Zoom…….

What could be longer than 22 weekends and 44 races? How about a two hour podcast to wrap up the 2023 season? Jim and Rich go crazy covering the last racing weekend and the MotoGp test. The Moto3 race was lackluster but Sasaki finally got a win. In Moto2 Aldeguer showed why he is the next hot MotoGp property by winning his fourth straight race. The MotoGP races were great theater with plenty of action and drama to talk about. From the Marc Marquez incidents to Brad Binder and his cheeky drop one place penalty to tire pressure fouls this race had it all. The guys then discuss the high points of the test on Tuesday and the off track news of the new MotoGP team. Grab a beer and settle in. This a long one!

Jim catches up with Rich (in Qatar) to discuss the penultimate round of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship after a thrilling weekend of racing, full of action and controversy. Rich gives the lowdown on his first experience in the MGP paddock while the two discuss questionable racing tactics, fisticuffs in the desert and dodgy rear tyres (or maybe not). Please like and subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks as always to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

Rich and Jim come together to discuss the racing action from Malaysia. With two dull races you would think the show would be shorter than usual but that is not the case. The guys go through some great listener feed concerning the 105% rule and automatic clutches. Many thanks to Chris and Scott for sending in the emails. Next up was a bit of news rumors that have Martin and Bastianini swapping rides? Plus the rumor that Marini will replace Marc Marquez at HRC. Fun stuff! Finally on to the racing action! The Moto3 race was a fantastic race with a first time winner and potential World Champ next year. The Moto2 race was dreary with the only action being a scary crash at turn two on the first lap. The Moto2 Championship was clinched by Pedro Acosta with an excellent podium finish. Lastly the guys talked about the boring MotoGP race and decides that that they finally have to talk about the stupid minimum air pressure rule.

Ahead of the final MotoGP triple header starting at Sepang this weekend, Jim and Rich team up to discuss the previous round in Thailand. The championship fights remain super close in MotoGP and Moto3 so all to play for there as we wind ourselves towards Valencia later this month. The races in Thailand didn’t disappoint so grab a beverage and listen to the musings. Please like and subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks as always to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

Jim rides solo on this quick update show. Rich was traveling home from Canada and the racing from the island was go good that Jim could not contain himself and just had to tell you all about it. As always the racing at the Island was fantastic but the weather was not. Weather concerns for Sunday meant that the 27 lap MotoGP race as run on Saturday. Everyone crossed their fingers and hoped that we would get the Moto3 race, Moto2 Race and the Sprint completed on Sunday before the weather turned bad. Surprise! We did not get all the racing completed before the wind blew us off the island. The Moto3 race was a last lap barn burner and the Moto2 race was red flagged before 2/3 distance was completed. The Motogp Sprint was canceled completely. Remember to check out RoadSkin for your riding apparel needs!

Rich and Jim talk through the second race of the first set of triple headers to end the 2023 season. It was all about momentum swings this weekend. In Moto3 they guys take about how riding with momentum in Moto3 is crucial when the pack is so close together. A first time winner emerged and and the championship leader maintained the momentum by increasing his points lead. In Moto2 momentum was all about having a race pace and Acosta and Canet had that most. With only 5 races left Acosta keeps gaining momentum. In MotoGP the momentum changed by the day, the hour and the minute as Martin and Pecco are locked in a fantastic battle for the world championship. Please remember to like and subscribe to the pod and check out www.RoadSkin.co.uk for cool riding apparel.

Rich and Jim discuss the divorce of Marc and HRC. It was a long time coming but now it is done and we can get back to the exciting championship battle in MotoGP. The guys talk about where Marc will ride next year and then speculate about the insane 2024 silly season that most likely will start at Qatar next year. They analyze the potential replacements that may take the second Repsol seat. Next news item is the conclusion of the KTM saga of where to put Pedro. Five Riders and 4 bikes was never going to work and so Pol is the odd man out. But Jack Miller has been given a warning that no contract is unbreakable. Is Jack out after 2024? Lastly, an injury update on the VR46 riders’ broken collarbones and of course Jim had to drag up F1 racing at Qatar just so he could talk about the new curbs. Remember to check out www.RoadSkin.co.uk for excellent looking riding apparel!

Rich & Jim talk through the action from Motegi as the MotoGP championship fly-aways continue. Motegi offered up a variety of races and weather conditions whilst certain off track moves continued to dominate the headlines. All get discussed, along with the intriguing question as to just what is inside those supposed can of energy drink?! Please like and subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks as always to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

JIm and Rich settle in for a chat about MotoGp racing at a "new circuit". The Buddh circuit in India. The track isn't a new facility as Formula 1 had raced there in the past but it was a new event for MotoGP. The weather was hot and humid and the action on tack was a bit lackluster. Even Moto3 was a little dull except for the last lap. Was it the heat, the humidity, or the track? The guys talk through it to try to figure it out. Moto2 was the Perdro show and there was heartbreak for Jake. Tony was looking like his old self but is it to late for his Championship? Lastly MotoGP threw us a reverse card as the Hondas looked racey. Mir had his best weekend on the Honda and Marc scored a bronze metal in the sprint. Remember MotoPod is proudly brought to you by Roadskin; a UK label specialising in protective outerwear for motorcyclists; modern biker clothing that you can wear all day long and engineered to save YOUR skin. For the road, for life; visit www.roadskin.co.uk

Jim and Rich are back to talk about the recent MotoGP round in Misano, as well as the post-race test which saw major focus on Honda and Yamaha’s preparations for the 2024 season. Moto3 race aside, not a classic weekend of racing so good to discuss some listener feedback and round up the recent news. Please like and subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Thanks to show partner Roadskin. Zoom Zoom…….

Jim and Rich break down the racing from Catalunya. The Moto3 race was a real thriller that had a bonkers last lap. Another last corner lead change saw Alonso take his second victory of the season and Oncu get penalized. In Moto2 the intrigue was great as the race had three distinct parts. Dixon rode a calculated race to grab a victory and Acosta increased his points lead. In the MotoGP sprint race Aprilia scored a victory at Espargaro's home track. On Sunday a crazy first corner crash and a violent high side in from of the entire pack by Bagnaia left hearts in mouths. In the restarted race Aleix would win again after passing his teammate Maverick. It was Aprilia 's first double podium in history. What a great weekend of racing!

Jim and Rich finally are able to get together to record a show! We apologize for the long gap but Rich was "pushing water uphill" and Jim was burning the candle at both ends. They guys spend the opening of the show talking about the rider silly season. They bring everyone up to speed on what they know to be true but then do what they do best, speculate where Pedro Acosta will ride next year. Silverstone race review is up next and what a cracking weekend that was. It was classic British summer and the Moto3 boys did not disappoint. Then it was the MotoGP riders turn and that race was a good one as well. Moto2 ended the day with a new rider leading the points. Moving on to the Austria round the guys are excited about the Moto3 race as the last lap was one of the best of the season so far. With the excitement of Moto3 over the Moto2 class produced a surprise winner. What would the MotoGP race have to offer? Well nothing sadly. Grab a cold beer as this show is quite a long one! Please remember to like and subscribe to the Pod!

Jim and Rich finally get together and cover all of the news during the mid summer break. Silly season is in full swing. Of note is will KTM buy another satellite team? Does Marquez team up with Acosta on this new team? Can two strokes return to grand prix racing? After all of that the guys answer email from you the listeners. It's a long and crazy show! As always please like and subscribe to the show and if possible please us out by making a donation. Zoom, zoom...

In this special show, Rich gets to chat with Silverstone Circuit’s Managing Director Stuart Pringle. Rich and Stuart discuss Silverstone’s journey over the past few years and the contribution of Stuart and his team in making the UK's foremost international circuit not just a roaring success for competitors and spectators alike but also bringing the facility back to financial health. The MotoGP circus will reconvene at Silverstone a fortnight from now so the pair discuss 2 wheeled motorsport and the immense package of entertainment on offer to MotoGP fans between the 3rd and 6th August. Please like and subscribe and become a show Patreon if you can. Zoom Zoom…….

Part 1 of a special interview show from the recent World Superbike round at Donington Park in the UK. Thanks to Dorna Sports for assisting MotoPod in gaining entry to the pre-race weekend media day, allowing Rich to speak with Garrett Gerloff (5:00), Loris Baz (13:43), Bradley Ray (24:19), Danilo Petrucci (34:07), Shaun Muir (45:42), Domi Aegerter (53:48), Taz Mackenzie (1:09:35) & John McPhee (1:12:04). Part 2 to follow shortly. Please like, share, subscribe and become a Patreon if you can. Zoom Zoom…….

After a few weeks off Jim and Rich reunite to discuss the Assen round. Moto3 was a barnstorming affair that saw ten riders battling it out for the podium places. In Moto2 Rich gets emotional,as much as a Brit can, reliving Jake Dixon's first win. The MotoGP race was a Ducati feast. Aprilia look better, Binder has issues with track limits and of course both Rich and Jim rant on about the horrendous penalties or lack thereof from the race stewards. Please remember to like and subscribe to the show if possible. Zoom, Zoom....

Hot on the heels of Mugello, Jim and Rich are back to discuss an eventful round 7 of the MotoGP championship at the Sachsenring. This was a truly epoch defining moment in modern MotoGP, as the European factories locked out the top positions and the hitherto unchallenged king of the Sachsenring was vanquished. In amongst all of this is the jubilation of Oncu’s first win in Moto3, together with another demolition job by Pedro Acosta in Moto2. As ever, please subscribe and donate if you can. And do please continue to send us your comments and questions for discussion on the upcoming listener feedback show. Zoom Zoom…….

Jim and Rich come together after a three week break to review the racing racing from Mugello. While the racing was not classic Mugello there was plenty on Rich and Jim's minds. First they cover listener feedback (Sorry Bernie). Then they tackle silly season rumors about Zarco, Martin, Marc Marquez, and the possibility that both Honda and Yamaha will leave MotoGP. Of course the racing action was blighted by the stewards and the random dishing out of penalties. Moto3 was the best race and Oncu is still looking for that first win. Moto2 was a master class by Pedro Acosta and his post race celebration was equally classic. Finally Bagnaia did the double and was truly in a class by himself. Zoom, Zoom....

Rich is joined on the show by Matt Birt, who provides race commentary on the MotoGP Dorna feed. Matt recollects his journey into motorcycle racing journalism and tv commentary, and the pair discuss the current state of play in the Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP series. This chat was recorded in early May, following round 4 at Jerez. As ever, please subscribe to the show and donate if you can. And do please send us your comments and questions for discussion on the upcoming pods. Zoom Zoom…….