Ducati wins Spanish GP - but how bad is Marc Marquez's latest title blow?

Marc Marquez claimed one of his unlikeliest wins ever during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend - yet his title hopes look more troubled than ever four rounds into the season.Matt Beer, Simon Patterson and Val Khorounzhiy discuss Marquez's situation, how much longer he'll be racing for and whether Jerez showed the Ducati is actually a match for the Aprilia.They also talk through Marquez's sprint-winning move, the value of flag-to-flag races, Fabio Di Giannantonio's superb form and rising market value and Fabio Quartararo's increasing exasperation at Yamaha among other topics.Join The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MotoGP 2026 resumes at Jerez this weekend but it’s doing so without Maverick Vinales due to his latest fitness blow - and, as Simon, Val and Matt explain on The Race MotoGP Podcast, that’s particularly terrible timing for his career.They also debate whether riders have too much power over their own fitness decisions, and whether MotoGP needs a totally different approach to stand-in rider provision.Plus with Val fresh from a weekend at the World Superbike Championship, they discuss why its crushingly dominant points leader Nicolo Bulega’s MotoGP chances are looking more complicated but also why WSBK isn’t exactly crying out for MotoGP rejects either.Join The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more - enter code '2026' at checkout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Much of the MotoGP grid for 2027 and beyond appears to have been sorted behind the scenes, with more of the dominos falling into play as the 'restart' of the season approaches.But while factories and riders maneouvre in secret, who are truly the most valuable MotoGP riders in the short- and medium-term - and who would get the first phone calls if the entire grid was reset?The Race MotoGP Podcast's crew seeks to paint a picture by borriwing a 'draft' format from other sports, with Val Khorounzhiy, Simon Patterson, editor Jordan Moreland and special guest Eden Hannigan choosing their optimal MotoGP line-ups.Would Marc Marquez, Fabio Quartararo or Pedro Acosta be the first choice in a true free-for-all? Does a bike manufacturer with a proven track record have more pull than a 'star' rider? And which riders look surplus to requirements for the next generation of MotoGP rules?This and more as we put together our mock 2027-2028 MotoGP grid.Join The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more - enter code '2026' at checkout.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With MotoGP on an unscheduled spring break, we figured it was time to revisit the modern-era history of blockbuster rider moves - particularly those that dramatically changed careers, for better or worse.Can anything top Valentino Rossi's Yamaha pivot? And did he stay a Yamaha rider too long? And how should history really judge Ducati's big-money move for Jorge Lorenzo?This and more - much more - in our latest episode of The Race MotoGP Podcast.Enjoy 90% off your first month with The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more - enter code '2026' at checkout.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Circuit of the Americas was supposed to properly kickstart Marc Marquez's MotoGP 2026 title bid - but instead Aprilia only pulled further clear.Matt Beer, Simon Patterson and Val Khorounzhiy dissect a weekend in which usual COTA dominator Marquez never really looked like beating the Aprilias, even without a major error on Saturday.They discuss Marquez's issues with the bike and with his physical fitness, and Jorge Martin's emergence as a genuine title threat within an Aprilia structure that should in theory be rallied around five-in-a-row winner Marco Bezzecchi.Plus, a look at Joan Mir's double DNF, Pecco Bagnaia's latest rollercoaster weekend and Toprak Razgatlioglu's inspired start to life in MotoGP being concealed by Yamaha struggles.Enjoy 90% off your first month with The Race Members' Club: Sign up to our motorbike-only Riders tier on Patreon for our 2015 revisited series, ad-free listening and more - enter code '2026' at checkout.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠X⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a wild pre-season flurry of news about riders agreeing 2027 MotoGP deals and big moves, we’ve had barely any actual announcements of those deals being official.So what’s going on? Why the stalling, and does it mean any of the deals are in jeopardy (one in particular is raising a lot of fans’ eyebrows right now)?Simon, Val and Matt explore the latest news and rumours from the paddock about the 2027 line-ups in a bonus episode of The Race MotoGP Podcast recorded on the eve of the Grand Prix of the Americas at Austin.Enjoy 90% off your first month with The Race Members' Club: 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.

MotoGP's first Brazilian Grand Prix in 22 years was an absolute wild weekend - with a litany of dramas ranging from floods to a sinkhole on the main straight to an abrupt shortening of the race, plus riders picking lumps of churned-up asphalt out of their boots.Simon Patterson recounts all the twists of his week at Goiania to Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer on The Race MotoGP Podcast, and they discuss where blame should be put and what needs to be done to put things right for 2027.And they also debate the implications of the commanding Aprilia 1-2 on track for the title fight.Enjoy 90% off your first month with The Race Members' Club: 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.

MotoGP’s 2027 rider market moved VERY early… and then the season-opener might’ve come as a shock to some teams banking on their new signings having put old problems behind them.Messy at best, abject at worst starts to 2026 for Pecco Bagnaia, Alex Marquez and Maverick Vinales in particular left many in The Race Members’ Club asking whether teams had jumped too soon to nail down next year’s line-ups.Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer give their take on The Race MotoGP Podcast - both on the riders with probably-secure 2027 futures who’ve started 2026 badly, and the riders with uncertain futures who’ve begun this year very well.Enjoy 90% off your first month with The Race Members' Club: 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.

Aprilia beat the brakes off MotoGP's usual dominant force Ducati in a fascinating 2026 season opener - so how worried should Ducati and star rider Marc Marquez be after a dispiriting Thai Grand Prix?Simon Patterson and Val Khorounzhiy discuss the chief storylines from Buriram, including the last-second deflation of a weekend Marquez looked to have salvaged, the source of Aprilia's dominance and a potential career-best weekend from new championship leader Pedro Acosta.Plus, why did Yamaha keep its riders from the media on Sunday - and how bad was its 2026 bike's competitive debut? And what of rookies Diogo Moreira and Toprak Razgatlioglu?Enjoy 90% off your first month with The Race Members' Club: 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.

This might not be the most unpredictable season MotoGP has ever gone into, but there is very good reason to expect a much more open and intriguing 2026 campaign compared to 2025 - as Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer explain on The Race MotoGP Podcast.Why some form of title fight is potentially on and who’ll be giving Marc Marquez the most headaches is our main topic, and we also make our predictions for who’ll make the biggest improvement over 2025 and who’ll go in the other direction.Plus Matt has a few ‘one-line-only answers’ curveball prediction questions for Simon and Val too.Enjoy 90% off your first month with The Race Members' Club: 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.