What we learned from Marquez at Gresini's 2024 launch

With one MotoGP pre-season test down and one to go, several riders go into next week's final two days of running in Qatar with significant problems to solve.And those problems have implications beyond the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix and even the 2024 campaign too, given how wild this year's rider market is set to be.Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer look at who's under pressure and how that pressure is multiplied by the moves teams will already be making towards their 2025 line-ups in a year when only four of the 22 riders on the grid have a contract for next season sorted.Those 2025 prospects weigh on everything in MotoGP at the moment, with even Honda's launch of its strikingly Repsol-light new livery turning into chat about whether Marc Marquez will be back there as early as next year.Speaking of Marc Marquez... he will be our very, very special guest for an exclusive interview on the next episode of The Race MotoGP Podcast, and we'll put some of your questions to him. Send them to podcasts@the-race.com and we'll pick a selection of the best to fit into Simon's one-on-one with the seven-time MotoGP champion later this week.FEBRUARY IS FREE! Join The Race Members Club and have a free month on us! Click here to sign upFollow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and FacebookCheck out our latest videos on YouTubeDownload our app on iOS or Android Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Helmi 202443min

Between Marc Marquez beginning life at Gresini Ducati properly, the massive changes many manufacturers were planning over the winter and the hints of something from Ducati that would change the aero game, the first 2024 pre-season MotoGP test was very eagerly awaited.Simon Patterson joins Valentin Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer on The Race MotoGP Podcast from Kuala Lumpur airport for an urgent dissection of everything we learned from three days of lap record smashing running at Sepang.Marquez's mood after a shaky first day, shifts in the Ducati power balance and some contrasting impressions of Yamaha and Honda's progress are among the many, many topics discussed.And when it comes to picking out a standout performer from the test, we get very excited about the 'next Marquez' - sole 2024 MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta.Follow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and FacebookCheck out our latest videos on YouTubeDownload our app on iOS or AndroidClick here to join The Race Members' Club Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

8 Helmi 202446min

Marc Marquez's move from Honda to Gresini Ducati means a change of crew chief for the first time in his whole MotoGP career - and we've got his new crew chief Frankie Carchedi with us on The Race MotoGP Podcast for an exclusive chat.Carchedi talks Simon Patterson and Valentin Khorounzhiy through his experience of working with Marquez so far and his feelings about being at the centre of the biggest MotoGP rider move in years.And he also offers plenty of unique insight into MotoGP crew chief life and methods.Follow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and FacebookCheck out our latest videos on YouTubeDownload our app on iOS or AndroidClick here to join The Race Members' Club Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5 Helmi 202440min

After making very rapid waves in NASCAR, Trackhouse Racing enters a very different world in 2024 as it joins the MotoGP grid as Aprilia's new satellite team.Trackhouse chief Justin Marks joined The Race MotoGP Podcast for an exclusive chat about the creation of his team's first motorcycle racing project ahead of its launch event in Los Angeles last Friday night, opening up about what drew him to MotoGP and what he expects his team to achieve in its earlier-than-planned debut season.And Marks gave our regular panel Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer plenty to talk about, from where Trackhouse fits into MotoGP's plan to get itself back on the USA's radar to whether the team's 2024 riders Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez are just going to be inherited stopgaps rather than parts of what's clearly a long-term project.Follow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and FacebookCheck out our latest videos on YouTubeDownload our app on iOS or AndroidClick here to join The Race Members' Club Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29 Tammi 202450min

As 2024 MotoGP launch season gets into full swing, The Race MotoGP Podcast joins Simon Patterson on his Italian road trip from Gresini to VR46 via a four-day Ducati extravaganza.He keeps Matt Beer and Valentin Khorounzhiy posted as he follows up attending Marc Marquez's debut in Ducati colours with a factory Ducati team launch where the main revelation was news of an aero change too significant to risk revealing before testing. We explain why Ducati - for all its domination - is potentially vulnerable around aero development, despite pioneering wings on MotoGP bikes in the 2010s.As for Valentino Rossi's new-liveried team, we ponder the early dynamic surrounding new signing Fabio Di Giannantonio and whether the 2023-spec Ducatis can really keep up with their factory-spec brethren.We also discuss the off-the-record element of major launch events and how useful they can be for relationships with riders, plus Ducati's attempt to transfer its MotoGP and World Superbike domination to motocross.Follow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and FacebookCheck out our latest videos on YouTubeDownload our app on iOS or AndroidClick here to join The Race Members' Club Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25 Tammi 202453min

MotoGP could finally shake off its Valentino Rossi hangover in 2024 as Marc Marquez's team switch creates huge sporting intrigue in a championship that's already just experienced its best title fight in years.But while interest in MotoGP is clearly rising right now, is it accessible enough to new fans and can it keep them hooked? Are its approaches to television and streaming right for this era? Is the fan experience at races good enough?The Race MotoGP Podcast put your questions on all of this to Dorna's chief commercial officer Dan Rossomondo, and we debate his answers and everything else off-track MotoGP with our regular panel Simon Patterson, Valentin Khorounzhiy and Matt Beer plus The Race Media's creative lead Oliver Card - a recent MotoGP convert of exactly the kind Dorna needs to entice and keep on board.Follow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and FacebookCheck out our latest videos on YouTubeDownload our app on iOS or AndroidClick here to join The Race Members' Club Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Tammi 20241h 20min

On this week's episode, host Toby Moody sits down for an in-depth chat with a MotoGP legend: Sito Pons. A familiar face in the MotoGP paddock for more than 40 years, the Spaniard has achieved nearly everything possible in Grand Prix racing, winning the 205cc world title twice, managing a race-winning premier class team, working with some of the best riders in the sport's recent history, guiding Pol Espargaro to the 2013 Moto2 championship, and much more. Listen in as he discusses his incredible career - and why he's now chosen to step back from running a team.Follow The Race on Instagram, Twitter and FacebookCheck out our latest videos on YouTubeDownload our app on iOS or AndroidClick here to join The Race Members' Club Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

9 Tammi 20241h 10min