Aprilia's big 2025 decisions, with boss Massimo Rivola

MotoGP's 2024 title fight is still raging on, but its 2025 season is beginning to take shape in the background - with several important developments occurring between the two Misano rounds. A positive test for a prototype new Michelin front tyre hints at a '25 introduction that would have wide-ranging consequences - including, crucially, an apparent big boost to Pecco Bagnaia, the new tyre's biggest fan of the grid. But why is Bagnaia so enamoured with it, who else is keen - and does it offer a sudden MotoGP pathway for World Superbike dominator Toprak Razgatlioglu? Plus, we discuss what factories ran in that same Misano test - and why there's talk of an impending engine freeze. Finally, we talk about MotoGP's plans for gradual implementation of in-race radio after the latest trial. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Follow the Race Moto channel on Instagram and Twitter Check out our latest videos on YouTube Download our app on iOS or Android Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Jorge Martin's disastrous pit decision in the San Marino Grand Prix prove decisive in the 2024 MotoGP world championship fight? At least one member of The Race MotoGP Podcast panel reckons so. Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer debate all the events of Misano from Martin's championship-lead-slashing tyre choice blunder to the implications of Marc Marquez's win for his 2024 and 2025 seasons - and for perceptions of Pecco Bagnaia. The end of the Repsol Honda era being announced on a day when there weren't even any Repsol Hondas on the grid plus Yamaha's subtle rise are also discussed as we answer plenty of questions from The Race Members' Club too. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Follow the Race Moto channel on Instagram and Twitter Check out our latest videos on YouTube Download our app on iOS or Android Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marc Marquez is finally a MotoGP race winner again, but his utter domination of the Aragon Grand Prix weekend was slightly overshadowed by his brother Alex taking out erstwhile championship leader Pecco Bagnaia in a frightening crash. And that frightening crash split opinions in the paddock and prompted some new conspiracy theories, which Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer dig into on The Race MotoGP Podcast. Marc Marquez's win, how he suddenly became so fast again and what it means for his 2025 partnership with Bagnaia in the works Ducati team, are all debated too, plus whether a sensible Jorge Martin is more worrying for his rivals than the old Martin even if he's not quite as fast right now, and why Bagnaia's weekend was so bad even before the Marquez crash. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Follow the Race Moto channel on Instagram and Twitter Check out our latest videos on YouTube Download our app on iOS or Android Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Ducati monopolising the wins and even the podium finishes so emphatically at present, The Race MotoGP Podcast throws the spotlight on the rest of the field this week. Simon Patterson and Val Khorounzhiy are tasked by Matt Beer with creating a top six ranking of the best non-Ducati riders of the 2024 season so far. Who's overcoming their equipment disadvantage most impressively, who probably should be doing a bit better even though they don't have a Ducati, and how are the riders stuck on Yamahas and Hondas actually doing? We debate all that plus how the riders at struggling manufacturers feel about their career choices and when the underdogs we're celebrating might win again. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Follow the Race Moto channel on Instagram and Twitter Check out our latest videos on YouTube Download our app on iOS or Android Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A less-than-thrilling Austrian Grand Prix meant plenty of interest in off-track MotoGP matters at the Red Bull Ring as the final pieces of the 2025 line-up jigsaw slotted into place. The reasons for Jack Miller, Miguel Oliveira, Ai Ogura and Somkiat Chantra's recently confirmed or now near-certain new deals prompted several strong questions from The Race Members' Club for Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy, Megan White and Matt Beer to tackle on The Race MotoGP Podcast. The lack of excitement on track at the Red Bull Ring, whether Marc Marquez is excelling on an outdated bike or throwing away chances, and Pedro Acosta's awful weekend are also delved into. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Follow the Race Moto channel on Instagram and Twitter Check out our latest videos on YouTube Download our app on iOS or Android Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh from returning to MotoGP as Yamaha's stand-in rider, Remy Gardner is our special guest on this week's episode of The Race MotoGP Podcast. The 2021 Moto2 champion is characteristically open about how long his single MotoGP season with KTM brought him and offers plenty of insight into switching between World Superbikes and MotoGP with Yamaha in 2024. He also shares his thoughts on the impact good friend Pedro Acosta is making in his old MotoGP team Tech3, while answering a host of questions from The Race Members' Club. And there's an extract from our behind the scenes Silverstone special that ran in MotoGP Extra on the Members' Club, plus Simon Patterson gives his take on Toprak Razgatlioglu's astonishing World Superbike season and why he's not in MotoGP, plus the quality of racing in both WSBK and its all-female support series WorldWCR. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Follow the Race Moto channel on Instagram and Twitter Check out our latest videos on YouTube Download our app on iOS or Android Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just when some people thought it was all over and Pecco Bagnaia was going to cruise to the 2024 MotoGP world championship, the British Grand Prix rewrote the script again. Bagnaia's sprint crash and a very sensible weekend from Jorge Martin mean a new championship leader and has Enea Bastianini's double win now made this a three-way fight? And is it problematic for Ducati that two of those three are leaving it after 2024? Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy, Megan White and Matt Beer debate all that in this week's episode of The Race MotoGP Podcast. And they and Oliver Card - fresh from a behind-the-scenes Silverstone trip for a special episode of MotoGP Extra for The Race Members' Club - discuss another disappointing Silverstone MotoGP turnout and why an event that has so much going for it just isn't getting anywhere near Formula 1's British GP numbers. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Follow the Race Moto channel on Instagram and Twitter Check out our latest videos on YouTube Download our app on iOS or Android Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Race MotoGP Podcast is always fond of a provocative prediction, so naturally with the season about to resume for its second half at the British Grand Prix this weekend, Matt Beer tasks Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy and wildcard guest Lewis Duncan with making some about everything that might happen on track in the rest of the season. Our panel have very different takes on how the title fight between Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin might play out from here, but the disagreement gets even more vehement when it comes to Yamaha's chances of success over the rest of 2024. What Pedro Acosta, Brad Binder and the resurgent Franco Morbidelli might achieve between now and the final also prompts plenty of debate. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Follow the Race Moto channel on Instagram and Twitter Check out our latest videos on YouTube Download our app on iOS or Android Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the 2025 MotoGP rider market reaches its final stages, The Race MotoGP Podcast looks at who might be ousted from the field after 2024 and who's likely to replace them. We know Aleix Espargaro is retiring and Ducati's committed to bringing Fermin Aldeguer up from MotoGP, but what other departures and debuts are on the cards? Simon Patterson and Matt Beer are joining by wildcard pundit Lewis Duncan to debate all that, with a particular focus on what'll come out of Trackhouse next as two grand prix winners fight over its second seat alongside someone the podcast panel are VERY split over. And there's also an excerpt from our members-only MotoGP Extra special on the WorldWCR all-female series, which is coming soon. Want more MotoGP podcast content? Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aprilia boss Massimo Rivola joins The Race MotoGP Podcast for a special summer break episode. As part of an extensive chat, Rivola discusses Aprilia's signing of Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi and some of the alternatives that were considered, the exits of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales and the line-up questions facing the satellite Trackhouse team. Afterwards, there is an extensive discussion between podcast regulars Matt Beer, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy over whether Bezzecchi deserved the nod over the likes of Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio, how Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez compare and whether Aprilia is living up to expectations or not. Rivola also tackled a varied selection of questions from The Race Members Club for a forthcoming bonus episode. Sign up to the motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for that episode, ad-free listening and more. Head to Patreon.com/therace Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices