Paddock Pass Podcast

Assen is done and dusted, and Pecco Bagnaia has established himself as the king of the Dutch circuit. After the race, Adam, David, and Neil sat down to discuss what makes Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin so much better than the rest at Assen, how Michelin's new rear tire is affecting the racing, why Marc Marquez was handed a 16-second penalty, and how Collin Veijer came with two corners of making history in Moto3.

Neil, Adam and David are delighted to be joined by Moto3 superstar Collin Veijer on this week's episode. The Dutchman looks ahead to his home round - a track where he hasn't ridden very often, ironically - and tells us the secret to success in Moto3. We also take a quick look at the state of the rider market, and ask who to look out for at the Assen round of MotoGP.

Another WorldSBK round, another WorldSBK podcast. This time it is Steve English and Gordo Ritchie, with Ivo Schützbach away on Speedweek duties, and they have a lot to talk about. There's the future of Toprak Razgatlioglu, and whether he is now the champion elect. What does the future hold for Alvaro Bautista? Will someone step up and replace the Bonovo team and take on a BMW privateer team role? Can Jonathan Rea's woes be solved? And an in-depth look at the new WCR women's world championship.

Mir not in the HRC mire? What did bosses in Austria say about the new 2025 Tech3 super-team? Will Yamaha really have four bikes on next year? What now for Jack Miller? Neil, Adam, and David answer these questions and a couple more as the first MotoGP hiatus of 2024 rumbles on.

Never a dull moment in MotoGP rider negotiations at the moment. So much so that the Paddock Pass Podcast is at risk of being overtaken by events as we discuss the potential losers of MotoGP silly season, and who stands to lose their job. Adam, David, Neil, and Steve talk what will happen to Jack Miller, Augusto Fernandez, Raul Fernandez, Joan Mir, and Alex Rins for next season, and where they might end up.

The Paddock Pass Podcast hit the jackpot this week. Adam and David were at the Mugello test when the news that Jorge Martin had signed for Aprilia broke, and were able to cover it in the Monday night Paddock Notes show. Then on Wednesday morning, as we were getting ready to record the midweek show, Ducati announced that Marc Marquez would be in the factory team for 2025 and 2026. 

Ducati turned Mugello into an even more Italian affair than normal, with the factory bikes decked out in a special blue livery to mark the start of the European Championship and the Summer Olympics. The race was not a classic, but it raised an awful lot of questions about where things stand in MotoGP at the moment.

Why is Pecco Bagnaia so perfect at Mugello? Is Enea Bastianini's revival enough to save his job? Why was Jorge Martin happy with just a third place? Where is Marc Marquez coming up short against the Ducati GP24s? And where did the pack find 25 seconds compared to last year's race? All this and more in our MotoGP reaction show.

The midweek show is here again, and we are once again taking questions from our very smart Patreon backers. Neil, Steve, David, and Adam kick off with why they would choose Marc Marquez over Jorge Martin, or Jorge Martin over Marc Marquez for the second factory Ducati seat, before diving into the Patreon mailbag. Have Aprilia peaked? Why can't Marc Marquez qualify? What are the differences between a satellite and a factory team in terms of support? What's up with Yamaha's satellite team? And much more.

It's Sunday night, so it's MotoGP reaction show time, and on this episode, David, Neil, and Adam are joined by Motorsport.com's Oriol Puigdemont to chew over events at the Grand Prix of Catalonia from Barcelona. 

There was much to talk about: Pecco Bagnaia making up for his mistake in the sprint race, Jorge Martin riding a smart race to take as many points as possible and extend his lead in the championship, Marc Marquez charging from fourteenth to the podium, past home favorite Aleix Espargaro, and Pedro Acosta's mistake. How does this affect Ducati's decision? And why did Enea Bastianini ignore instructions to do a Long Lap Penalty, and all the escalating penalties that resulted? Plus our winners and losers.

We have a very special guest on the show this week. KTM test rider and former Moto2 champion Pol Espargaro joins Adam, David, and Neil to look ahead to Pol's home round, having grown up in Granollers, a literal stone's throw from the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Pol talks about the stresses of modern MotoGP, recovering from injury, where KTM is at the moment, and tips his brother Aleix to win at the weekend.