Paddock Pass Podcast

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.

It is nearly time to go racing in MotoGP, so Adam, Neil, and David sit down for a bout of wild speculation and prediction. Who will be 2024 MotoGP champion?  How many races before Marc Marquez starts to win again? Will he win at all? Who or what will be the biggest surprise of the season? Will the Japanese factories ever be competitive again? And who is out at the end of the season? 

If you want to pit your wits against the Paddock Pass Podcast team, you can also sign up for the official MotoGP Fantasy League competition and join the Alpinestars Paddock Pass Podcast League. The winner gets a special package of goodies from Alpinestars.

The opening round of WorldSBK was a classic. Pit stops due to tire wear, a Kawasaki double win (despite the loss of Jonathan Rea), Andrea Locatelli making his mark, Andrea Iannone's spectacular return to racing, and a very strong BMW debut for Toprak Razgatlioglu. To talk you through a great weekend of racing, Steve English is joined by paddock legends Gordon Ritchie and Ivo Schützbach for a deep dive into what happened, and why.

We have a very special guest on this week's Paddock Pass Podcast, as Neil and Adam interview KTM test rider and former MotoGP legend Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa talks life as a test rider, wildcards, and more. Neil has a feature on what makes Jorge Martin so successful, with comments from crew chief Daniele Romagnoli, manager Albert Valera, and more. David talks about his visit to Michelin, to see how they make their rear tires. And Adam and the crew discuss the news that Dorna is up for sale, and F1 owners Liberty Media could be interested in buying it.