The Race MotoGP Podcast

MotoGP 2026 roared into life with the three-day pre-season test at Sepang, set against the backdrop of more and more dramatics on the rider market.The Race MotoGP Podcast panel of Matt Beer, Simon Patterson and Val Khorounzhiy delve into the testing action, with analysis of long run pace and peak laptimes and the feedback from teams and riders.Has Ducati successfully safeguarded its MotoGP dominance? Are Aprilia and Marco Bezzecchi the only credible threat? And how much can be read into Pecco Bagnaia and particularly Alex Marquez having the initial upper hand over champion Marc Marquez?Plus, what's the latest on Bagnaia's future - with him sounding increasingly resigned to a Ducati exit for 2027?We also check in on Yamaha, with its mid-test 'hiatus' eventually resolved and a performance picture starting to form, including for somewhat frustrated rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu.Enjoy a 7-day free trial to 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

The first days of 2026 MotoGP testing have been dominated by talk of who's going where for 2027. There's a LOT for Val Khorounzhiy, Simon Patterson and Matt Beer to unpack as The Race MotoGP Podcast dives into Fabio Quartararo, Jorge Martin, Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez's big likely moves plus how Marc Marquez could blow it all apart and why Marco Bezzecchi just got married to a motorbike.Enjoy a 7-day free trial to 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

A pleasing but not-that-different MotoGP 2026 livery took centre stage in Ducati’s launch event ahead of its latest title defence - but there was a lot more to dig into from behind-the-scenes at its presentation.Senior figures shed some light on the hotly-anticipated GP26 and its main areas of design focus, while Marc Marquez offered a fresh update on his ongoing recovery from the shoulder injury that forced him out of the final races of 2025 and the post-season test.The big news, however, is that Ducati and Marquez are making no secret of the fact they’re moving fast on a new MotoGP contract - while the factory future of team-mate Pecco Bagnaia looks as open as ever.Enjoy a 7-day free trial to 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

MotoGP is another step closer to the start of its 2026 campaign with the start of the ‘launch season’, with team presentation events held by Yamaha satellite team Pramac, Ducati satellite team VR46 and the works Aprilia team.Simon Patterson was on-site for all three across three days, and joins Valentin Khorounzhiy for a special edition of The Race MotoGP Podcast to discuss the teams’ presentations and outlooks for 2026.From Aprilia’s ongoing quest to find a title sponsor and admission that rival firms are chasing its riders with big-money offers, to Toprak Razgatlioglu’s debut in Pramac colours and VR46’s tweaked look, Simon and Val discuss the first MotoGP storylines of the year.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.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

The 2026 MotoGP roster isn't all that different to how it looked last year - and the teams are all the same - but there's a lot of reason to feel differently about many of the pairings.The Race MotoGP Podcast panel of Matt Beer, Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy and Megan White try to articulate those feelings - in the tried-and-tested form of a line-up ranking.They also discuss the news of a significant leg injury to Ducati sophomore Fermin Aldeguer on the eve of the season.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.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

Our usual end-of-year tradition at The Race MotoGP Podcast continues in 2025, as we select our aggregate top 10 of the riders in the premier class this season.Did all the race winners make the cut? How do we grade Pecco Bagnaia's season? Who comes out on top in the insanely close fight for second? And is Marc Marquez a unanimous first? Plus, we discuss why Marquez's dominance hasn't resonated outside of MotoGP as much as it should have.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.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

Ahead of his MotoGP race debut in 2026, three-time World Superbike champion Toprak Razgatlioglu faces a weight of immediate expectation most rookies are spared from.Val Khorounzhiy is joined by Simon Patterson - who just spoke to Razgatlioglu at the FIM Awards end-of-year event in Lausanne - to discuss the Turk’s start to life in MotoGP, while we also hear from the man himself in one of the first interviews he’s given since beginning his premier-class test programme.What does Razgatlioglu expect in 2026? What is he currently working on? What does he make of the argent fan reaction to his controversial Jerez title showdown with his friend Nicolo Bulega - and what state does he leave World Superbikes in?Plus, we hear from the final-for-now MotoE champion Alessandro Zaccone and discuss why the series is not going into its eighth season next year.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.Follow the Race Moto channel on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠Check out our latest videos on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

The 2027 rule changes mean MotoGP riders and teams are going to have to take massive early punts with their next deals.It’s kicking off already with reports that Pedro Acosta’s camp is already angling to get him onto a factory Ducati, but that certainly won’t be the only pre-Christmas plotting going on.Simon Patterson, Val Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer convene on The Race MotoGP Podcast to discuss that Acosta/Ducati possibility, where the resurgent Honda fits into the rider market machinations and who we really think deserves nice sweet-handling Aprilia and a reassuring hug from Massimo Rivola.BLACK FRIDAY: Get 50% off your first month when you 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

Yamaha is embarking on a bold new chapter with its V4 engine - but how hard should it work to make sure Fabio Quartararo is part of that chapter?The Race MotoGP Podcast crew (Matt Beer, Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy) tackles this question as part of a major Yamaha overview, and also field questions about the impact of Marc Marquez's absence on the end of the 2025 season in this Q&A special.Also discussed is Jorge Lorenzo's new coaching partnership with Maverick Vinales and a truly bewildering recent claim from the series boss about MotoGP racing on street circuits.BLACK FRIDAY: Get 50% off your first month when you 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