Paddock Pass Podcast

So much happened during the return of Grand Prix motorcycle racing at the Red Bull Ring in Austria that it took a mighty crew of four Paddock Pass Podcasters to cover it all. Ducati's return to winning ways, Jorge Lorenzo's return to form, Marc Marquez' maturity, ride throughs, dashboard messages: all this and more were topics for discussion between Roadracing World's Neil Morrison, top snapper Tony Goldsmith, MotoMatters.com's own photographer extraordinaire Scott Jones, and David Emmett.

From a hotel room in Vienna, where we assembled to record the lastest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast, we talk at length about the circuit in Spielberg, and its outstanding facilities. Scott Jones and Tony Goldsmith give their unique perspective as photographers on the spectacular setting of the track, comparing it favorably to many other circuits. We also discuss the safety issues at the circuit, and what MotoGP expects to be done to help address them.

It is a time for mid-season reviews. In addition to our own series of reviews looking at how the various riders have fared in the first half of the year, Steve English, Neil Morrison and Asphalt & Rubber's Jensen Beeler got together to discuss the first half of 2016 for the latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast.

Over the course of an hour and a half, Steve, Neil and Jensen go over the riders, the factories, and the teams, and how they have held up during the first nine races of 2016.

The latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast features Neil Morrison of Roadracing World and Crash.net and MotoMatters.com's own David Emmett taking a long look back at the Sachsenring, and discussing the events of MotoGP test in Austria. 

We kick off with a long look at the wet weather race in Germany, and discuss the concerns Michelin had ahead of the weekend. On a drying track, tire choice and pit strategy became key, and Neil and David discuss who benefited and who didn't. They also take a look at the improving form of both Cal Crutchlow and Scott Redding, and ask whether the 2016 MotoGP championship is already over.

Later than hoped for, but here at last. Recorded after the MotoGP race at Assen, the latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast is finally online. 

In it, Tony Goldsmith and Neil Morrison discuss the events of a wild and weird weekend in The Netherlands, and the surprise winner the Dutch TT produced. Tony and Neil go over the race and the weather, and the difficulties of a red-flagged race.

Apart from the on-track action, the podcasting pair also take a long look at Ducati, and their progress throughout the year. There is also talk of both the Moto2 and Moto3 classes, of the prospects of Alex Rins and his fellow Moto2 riders making the transition to MotoGP. 

The latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast switches paddocks. David Emmett went to Misano for the World Superbike round at the Italian circuit, and after the race, he and Steve English, working as TV commentator in the World Superbike paddock, got together to discuss the events of the weekend.

Steve and David naturally discuss the events of the weekend, but there is also a much broader discussion, on the challenges teams face when they enter the WorldSBK paddock. We go over the various teams and bikes, and the varying levels of support from each of the factories. We talk about MV Agusta being a case in point: a factory struggling financially with what is basically a good package and an excellent rider in Leon Camier. 

In the latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast, we step away from the usual world of MotoGP and World Superbikes to take a deep dive into one of the most iconic motorsports events on the planet: the Isle of Man TT. Asphalt & Rubber's Jensen Beeler talks to the men on the ground on the Island, Tony Goldsmith and Steve English, in a lengthy discussion that covers almost every aspect of the TT, and includes an interview with TT legend John McGuinness. Being a native of the Isle of Man, Tony Goldsmith brings a unique perspective to the race, and how the Island views the event.

After a tragic and emotional weekend at Barcelona, David Emmett and Neil Morrison sat down in David's hotel room to discuss the Grand Prix of Catalonia, as well as the test which took place on Monday.

Naturally, the first topic of discussion is the tragic death of Luis Salom on Friday, during free practice for the Moto2 class. Neil and David go over the sequence of events leading up to his death, as well as the aftermath, and how the series coped with it. We talk about track safety and how the track was changed, and how the Safety Commission came to its decision.

The latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast is something very special indeed. After the Austin round of MotoGP, David Emmett spoke to two of the finest photographers in the paddock, Scott Jones and Tony Goldsmith, about the challenges they face as motorcycle racing photographers.

It is a long and fascinating chat, covering a very wide range of topics concerning being a photographer in MotoGP. Scott and Tony talk about where their interest in photography came from, and how they ended up working as professional racing photographers. They talk about the technical challenges they face - not going into too much technical detail, so as not to confuse the photo-illiterate David Emmett - when shooting, such as dealing with the bane of the MotoGP photographer, heat haze.

As Tony has a long history of shooting at the TT on the Isle of Man, he explains the very different approaches and expectations of photography at the TT and MotoGP. Scott has spent some time shooting cars as well as bikes, and both he and Tony compare and contrast shooting cars and shooting motorcycles, and explain why taking pictures of motorcycle racing is much more interesting than taking pictures of cars.

As the motorcycle racing season heats up, Neil Morrison and Steve English bring a very timely edition of the Paddock Pass Podcast. Episode 27 starts off with the inevitable long look at the rider market, after the recent rash of official announcements. Steve and Neil break down the reasons for Maverick Viñales going to Yamaha, Andrea Iannone going to Suzuki, and Dani Pedrosa staying at Honda.

The latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast is something rather special. At Jerez, David Emmett spoke to Pippa Laverty, the wife and long-time partner of Aspar Ducati rider Eugene Laverty (and yes, that's Aspar Ducati, not Avintia, as I mistakenly said in the introduction). 

Pippa answers a range of reader questions and gives us a fascinating insight into the life of a rider's partner. She talks about the demands of travel, of the things she does to help Eugene relax during a race weekend, and how she copes with the stress of watching the man she loves doing something so dangerous, and something he so obviously loves. It is a great perspective, and a view which is not often seen by many. It was a wonderful conversation, and Pippa was generous and open in her answers.