Paddock Pass Podcast

It's a two-show week for the Paddock Pass Podcast, and in this episode, Adam Wheeler and Neil Morrison report back from the launch of the GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 presentation in Barcelona.

Adam and Neil talk us through the ramifications of the Pierer Mobility Group (KTM's parent company) choosing MotoGP to promote their brand of youth-oriented motorcycles to the general public. And they here from Pol Espargaro, Pit Beirer, and Hervé Poncharal about the aims and objectives of the project.

It's been back-to-back weekends for WorldSBK, which means back-to-back Paddock Pass Podcasts for Steve English and Gordon Ritchie. In this episode, the dynamic duo look back at a strange and difficult World Superbike round at Mandalika in Indonesia, which left them with plenty to talk about.

Steve and Gordo talk about the state of the track, and the problems - and crashes - it caused for the riders. They talk about Kawasaki's terrible weekend, another triumphant weekend for Alvaro Bautista and Ducati, and how Toprak Razgatlioglu came back to winning ways.

It's been a tumultuous few days for Steve English and Gordon Ritchie, with Steve struck down with flu and Gordo having flights shuffled about, but the Paddock Pass Podcast WorldSBK crew finally managed to get together over zoom to discuss the events of the opening round of the World Superbike series at Phillip Island.

Steve and Gordo examine Ducati's dominance in Australia, and what it portends for the 2023 season. They talk us through what happened at Phillip Island, and how this weekend's race at Mandalika might change the balance of power.

The Repsol Honda team held the launch of their 2023 MotoGP season in Madrid this weekend, and the Iberian Contingent of the Paddock Pass Podcast took a train up to Madrid to attend. Right afterward, Adam Wheeler and Neil Morrison sat down to discuss what they had heard and seen.

Adam and Neil discuss Marc Marquez walking back his remarks about Honda made in the documentary series All In, they discuss the new organizational rigor which Ken Kawauchi has brought to HRC from Suzuki, and they look at what to expect from Joan Mir, the second time that a former world champion has joined Repsol Honda to partner Marc Marquez.

As the racing season approaches, so the rate at which Paddock Pass Podcasts are released goes up. This episode of the podcast sees Steve English, Adam Wheeler, Neil Morrison, and David Emmett take a look back at what we saw at the Sepang MotoGP test.

After Steve tries unsuccessfully to force us to summarize each factory in 5 words, we kick off with a rundown factory by factory, from the dominance of Ducati, the improvement of Aprilia the mystery of KTM, the concerns of Yamaha, and the reboot of Honda. Then we give our surprises and disappointments.

The WorldSBK season is just 10 days away from starting, so with tests at Jerez and Portimão in the books, Gordon Ritchie and Steve English sat down to look at what has emerged from testing so far and what that means for the 2023 season. 

Steve and Gordo run down the teams and factories, evaluate their progress, and assess their chances of success in 2023.

In this episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast, a small subset of the crew gathered to mull over the coming MotoGP test at Sepang. To start the show, Neil Morrison brings Steve English up to date with the state of play going into the test, including the results of preseason testing. 

Then, David Emmett and world championship winning crew chief and 2D data recording specialist Peter Bom discuss how they see the Sepang MotoGP test. Peter gives his insight into what makes testing at Sepang so useful and so challenging, and then he runs down what each factory has to test and to improve at Sepang.

The latest episode of the Paddock Pass Podcast features a very special guest. AMA Supercross and MX legend Chad Reed joined the show to give his perspective, as a multiple SX and MX champion, on the MotoGP paddock, a place he knows very well. Chad is a frequent visitor to the MotoGP paddock, and has been friends over the years with most of the top riders, having spent time with Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Marc Marquez, Jack Miller, Fabio Quartararo, and more.

In the last Paddock Pass Podcast for 2022, Neil Morrison, Adam Wheeler, and David Emmett take a look back at the 2022 MotoGP season and pick out their highs and lows. They choose their riders of the year, their races of the year, the rider who has most surprised them, and what they would ask Santa Claus to bring them to make MotoGP even better in 2023.

There was a lot to talk about, so it's a long show, and as an added bonus, Neil Morrison sat down with KTM Moto2 rider and 2021 Moto3 champion Pedro Acosta.

In the second part of David Emmett's chat with former crew chief and now MotoGP expert commentator Peter Bom, the pair dive into the three remaining factories. We discuss what made Suzuki's GSX-RR so special, and why it was such a competitive bike. We discuss KTM, how they had success in the factory team, with Miguel Oliveira winning races and Brad Binder capable of passing so many riders, while the Tech3 satellite squad struggled with two rookies.

We also take a look at Honda, and what they did to the RC213V. Why did they have such a difficult year? What was wrong with the bike? Can the fix it in time to prevent Marc Marquez from leaving? And what happens if he goes to Ducati?