What Aprilia’s surge means for MotoGP 2026

Ducati had its worst MotoGP race since 2021 in the Australian Grand Prix sprint, while Aprilia dominated the whole weekend - with works rider Marco Bezzecchi and Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez splitting the race victories.So is the Aprilia now the best bike in MotoGP? Is it the bike to beat going into 2025? Is this all a mirage created by Marc Marquez’s injury absence? Where did this Fernandez performance come from given he’d never even run in the top three in a MotoGP Sunday race until now? What would Jorge Martin be achieving on this bike if he’d been injury-free this year?Phillip Island gave Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer plenty to debate on The Race MotoGP Podcast.Beyond the Aprilia results, the latest Pecco Bagnaia disaster, KTM stand-in Pol Espargaro’s heroics and Yamaha’s odd weekend are all debated too.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Marc Marquez sidelined for at least the next two grands prix, the rest of the 2025 MotoGP field heads to the Australian Grand Prix with a much clearer shot at victory in the absence of the rider who’s had them all beaten for most of the year.Who’s best placed to benefit from that? Will Fermin Aldeguer double up? Can Marco Bezzecchi overcome the inevitable penalty coming his way for Marquez’s crash? Is this a chance for Pecco Bagnaia to get Ducati back behind him?Simon Patterson and Matt Beer make their predictions for the wide open Phillip Island weekend in The Race MotoGP Podcast, with a host of leftfield potential surprise contenders in the mix too.Plus with at least three series regulars out injured (including the 2024 and ‘25 champions) does MotoGP need to take the need for substitute riders more seriously? Simon and Matt offer some solutions.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A week after Marc Marquez clinched the title and Pecco Bagnaia emphatically returned to form, everything went horribly wrong for the works Ducati MotoGP team at the Indonesian Grand Prix with Marquez suffering a new injury when taken out by Marco Bezzecchi and Bagnaia tumbling right to the back again.Val Khorounzhiy, Simon Patterson and Matt Beer discuss what happened to Marquez and how quickly (or not) he might be back. But the big debate is over both the state of Bagnaia’s weekend and the controversy and mystery around what’s going on with his bike and his mentality, and the gap between VR46 and Ducati’s accounts of what Bagnaia tested last month at Misano.All of that slightly overshadows a breakthrough first win for rookie Fermin Aldeguer, in front of fellow rising star Pedro Acosta - will their battle define the years ahead?We also delve into why the weekend was so weird form-wise overall, including surges to the front by recent strugglers Alex Rins and Raul Fernandez.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While Marc Marquez clinched a very early and emotional 2025 MotoGP title at Motegi, it was his Ducati team-mate Pecco Bagnaia who actually dominated the weekend - a far cry from his terrible form in recent weeks.Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer attempt to unravel the Bagnaia form mystery on The Race MotoGP Podcast, but only after paying due respect to Marquez’s first championship win in six years - and arguing over how it was celebrated.Jorge Martin’s latest injury (and the massive error that caused it) and the return of Joan Mir and the works Honda team to the MotoGP podium also feature strongly.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Alex Marquez gets upgraded to the same Ducati spec as brother Marc for the 2026 MotoGP season, The Race MotoGP Podcast delves into Ducati’s hierarchy, pecking order and bike specification puzzle with Simon Patterson, Megan White and Matt Beer.Might all six Ducati riders actually get the same bike for 2026? And will it be one that Pecco Bagnaia copes better with or is that now more about him than his equipment? And will getting equal machinery actually be a good or bad thing for Alex Marquez?Plus Megan reports back from her weekend embedded with Ducati and Lenovo, and we debate whether the big 2027 rule change is really a chance for rivals to dethrone Ducati plus the future shape of Ducati’s rider line-up and whether it’s betting too much on Fermin Aldeguer.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marco Bezzecchi didn’t quite win the San Marino Grand Prix, but across the Misano weekend he made life much harder for Marc Marquez than the runaway championship leader has been used to in 2025 - and it showed when Marquez crashed from the sprint lead.Does Bezzecchi and Aprilia’s recent progress together signal a 2026 title challenge? Val Khorounzhiy, Simon Patterson and Matt Beer debate that on The Race MotoGP Podcast.Plus KTM’s bizarrely shambolic weekend of technical failures, the Yamaha V4’s debut and a long wait for the thoughts of Pecco Bagnaia.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marc Marquez finally lost a MotoGP race for the first time in three months at Barcelona, but it was his brother Alex who beat him rather than his double champion factory Ducati team-mate Pecco Bagnaia.Bagnaia wasn’t even close to the podium in Spain, let alone victory, as his troubled season reached a woeful new low with a weekend spent mostly among the backmarkers.Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer try their best to explain what’s going on with Bagnaia, what could be done about it and what it says about him on The Race MotoGP Podcast.Plus the KTM (and in particular Enea Bastianini) resurgence, more penalty/racing standards angst and possibly Val’s most bemused response ever to a Simon declaration.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The final pieces of MotoGP’s 2026 rider line-up have fallen into place, even if those last deals haven’t yet been announced.Is Miguel Oliveira’s likely exit from the grid fair? What should we expect from fought-over rookie Diogo Moreira?Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer debate that on The Race MotoGP Podcast - and Matt also challenges the panel to cast an eye forward to 2027 in the process and take a punt on how many riders will stay be in the same place another year on (and we don’t think it will be many).We also discuss why the World Superbike Championship isn’t picking up MotoGP riders - yet - despite all the factory deals up for grabs there, and assess MotoGP’s next rising star David Alonso’s long-term prospects after his spectacular first Moto2 win.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A (contentious) new venue for MotoGP but exactly the same result, as Marc Marquez continued his dominant streak at Balaton Park.But with team-mate Pecco Bagnaia and erstwhile title rival Alex Marquez floundering, is Ducati getting a bit too reliant on Marc in the same way that proved Honda’s undoing?Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer debate that in the context of recent gains from Aprilia (with Jorge Martin on the pace now too), KTM and even Honda.Plus our takes on Bagnaia’s odd declaration of a game-changing breakthrough during an awful weekend, Alex Marquez getting back to bad old habits and whether MotoGP should be racing at Balaton at all.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Pecco Bagnaia's latest MotoGP 2025 collapse - along with his post-race suggestion he is "running out of patience" - a sign his position in the factory Ducati team has been fundamentally damaged?The Race MotoGP Podcast panel - namely Val Khorounzhiy and Simon Patterson - discuss this and more live from the Red Bull Ring, a track Marc Marquez has now emphatically ticked off from his MotoGP 'yet to win' list.The title race is over - but how's the racing? And what on Earth was going on with Yamaha this weekend?Plus, Fermin Aldeguer's star-making performance, two riders' continued resurgence and where Jorge Martin's recovery is at.Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.