Paddock Pass Podcast

The Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez proved to be a corker! On Sunday night, Adam, Neil and David sat in a deserted press conference room above pit lane, where the bikes were being warmed up ready for Monday's test, to discuss the thrills and spills of Jerez. 

We ask whether this was Pecco Bagnaia's best GP win, what this means for Marc Marquez, whether Jorge Martin is human again, and what the impact of Pedro Acosta has been on the crowds. We also get into the complaints about Race Direction, and ask whether Johann Zarco was right to be so angry with Freddie Spencer. And to top it off, we have our winners and losers.

After a thrilling and cold round of WorldSBK at Assen, Steve and Gordo sat down with MotoGP veteran Mat Oxley to discuss the state of WorldSBK, what BMW is doing in the series, and what that means for MotoGP. And Steve interviews BMW team boss Shaun Muir about the impact that the arrival of Toprak Razgatlioglu at the Bavarian manufacturer has had.

The Spanish GP marks the start of the European leg of MotoGP, so Adam grills David and Neil on their knowledge of the Jerez circuit and the history of the Spanish Grand Prix. We debate whether KTM and Aprilia can take the fight to Ducati, whether Jerez is the best place to host the Spanish GP, and how Dani Pedrosa will fare in his KTM wildcard weekend. Plus, a giant interview with Wayne Rainey on MotoGP and more.

Kevin Schwantz is a legend of grand prix motorcycle racing, and Neil and Adam had the opportunity to interview the ex-500cc champion to talk about his history, the state of racing in the US, and much more. And David, Adam, Neil and Steve look at some of the big stories to emerge from the Circuit Of The Americas. Does this mark a turning point for Maverick Viñales? Is the brake issue which caused Marc Marquez to crash out from the lead a sign that winning a title in a factory team is impossible? And what is going on with Honda? 

The Austin round of MotoGP proved to be a thriller, with all of the components of a historic race. An impressive comeback through the field to victory, a rising star battling for the win, the return, and fall, of the King of COTA, and rumblings of trouble for the dominant factory in MotoGP. On Sunday night, Adam, David, and Neil gathered to digest what they saw at the Circuit Of The Americas. They talk the return of the Mack, the ascendancy of Acosta, Marc Marquez' missed braking marker, and Ducati's chatter problem. 

Adam also speaks to Maverick Viñales' crew chief Manuel Cazeaux, 2000 500cc champion Kenny Roberts Jr, and Chris Hillard from Alpinestars explains their latest TechAir 7x airbag system for track day use.

With the US round of MotoGP heaving into view, David, Neil, and Adam talk all things America. What impact will Liberty's acquisition of Dorna play in promoting MotoGP in the US? Are more US rounds incoming? Will Laguna Seca make a comeback? What prospects does the Flatrock Motorsports Park in Tennessee have? Which American giant from the 1980s and 1990s would have done best in the modern era of MotoGP? Would Lawson have been better than Rainey? Could Schwantz have killed it on a KTM?

We also have a discussion of why Fabio Quartararo stuck with Yamaha rather than risking jumping to a (potentially more competitive) bike. We give our favorite memories from US races in the past, and we offer our predictions for who will win at the Circuit Of The Americas.

We thought MotoGP's Silly Season was going to be wild this year, but we didn't quite expect that Dorna itself would be a part of it. The news that Liberty Media has bought out Bridgepoint Capital and Canadian pension fund CPPIB to acquire Dorna is the biggest news in MotoGP for a decade or more, so Adam, Steve, Neil, and David have plenty to discuss on the show. What will the takeover mean for MotoGP? How will it affect WorldSBK? Will they get it past the regulators?

Adam also got 10 minutes with Dorna's Chief Commercial Officer Dan Rossomondo, who gives his insight into what Dorna hope they can achieve with Liberty, and we also have a very long and insightful interview with Chaz Davies, on MotoE, developing Ducati's V21L race bike, retirement, and Casey Stoner.

How long would it take Toprak Razgatlioglu to become competitive on the BMW? The answer, as we found out in Barcelona, was two rounds. Toprak's stunning pass on Alvaro Bautista at the final corner, almost a carbon copy of Valentino Rossi's move on Jorge Lorenzo in 2009 loudly announced the BMW's arrival at the top of WorldSBK, and generated a real buzz of excitement. The Paddock Pass Podcast's WorldSBK crew - Steve English, Gordo Ritchie, and Speedweek's Ivo Schützbach - take a deep dive into the events of the Catalunya round of World Superbikes, and where the series stands.

An interesting weekend at Portimão raises big questions for MotoGP. Is this the real Maverick Viñales? Was Pecco Bagnaia or Marc Marquez to blame for the incident that took them both out of the race? Is Pedro Acosta now KTM's lead rider? Is Jorge Martin now the title favorite? Neil Morrison, Steve English, and Adam Wheeler take a look back at an eventful weekend. And Fabio Di Giannantonio tells us about his rollercoaster ride in MotoGP so far.

Qatar taught us many lessons, and Neil, Ad, David, and (occasionally) Steve discussed a few of the things they saw at the opening MotoGP round of the season. What does Pecco Bagnaia's strong start to 2024 mean? What did Jorge Martin do wrong? Why did half the Moto2 field go backward during the race? Does Marc Marquez really think he can win the championship? How good was Pedro Acosta's debut really?

We also hear from Acosta's crew chief, Paul Trevathan, on how he saw Acosta's first race in MotoGP. And we round up with our winners and losers of the weekend.