Simon Patterson

MotoGP

Honda’s surprise Marquez stand-in deserved more from MotoGP

Iker Lecuona lost his MotoGP seat just as he was starting to show what he could really do. Now he steps into huge shoes as Marc Marquez’s Spanish Grand Prix stand-in at Repsol Honda

MotoGP

Marquez to miss Jerez too, Honda calls up intriguing stand-in

Marc Marquez’s comeback has been delayed by another race, so Honda is calling on an ex-MotoGP racer from its World Superbike pool as its Spanish Grand Prix stand-in

MotoGP

‘Did Honda pick the wrong Suzuki rider?’ is the wrong question

Does Alex Rins’ 42-point edge over Joan Mir reflect poorly on Mir and his contract – or the Honda MotoGP factory team?

MotoGP

The lesser-known MotoGP rule ‘limiting’ Honda’s recovery

Honda MotoGP test rider and regular Marc Marquez replacement Stefan Bradl has called for a change to testing restrictions in the wake of MotoGP’s revised weekend format in 2023

MotoGP

Inside a title winner’s mission to reinforce the Ducati armada

Fabio Di Giannantonio has been Ducati’s slowest rider for the majority of his brief time in MotoGP – Simon Patterson finds out his plan to fix that

MotoGP

Niggling problems are wasting Aprilia’s 2023 MotoGP potential

Aprilia could’ve had podiums at least from the Austin MotoGP weekend, but didn’t fulfil that potential. It’s becoming a theme

MotoGP

Why nearly half the field crashed in Austin MotoGP race

Sunday’s MotoGP race at the Circuit of the Americas was something of a crash fest, with no fewer than nine members of the 22-rider grid falling during the 20-lap battle. But while the bumpy surface of the Austin track is hardly something that comes as a surprise anymore, it can’t take the full blame

MotoGP

Grand Prix of the Americas 2023 MotoGP rider rankings

Simon Patterson ranks the riders’ performances from a chaotic third round of the 2023 MotoGP season at the Circuit of The Americas where almost half of the field crashed out of the race

MotoGP

Bagnaia has MotoGP crash explanation he admits sounds ‘crazy’

A second successive sudden exit from a MotoGP grand prix while on for big points has led to reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia concluding his “incredible” Ducati Desmosedici GP23 may actually be “too stable”

MotoGP

Why Rins has a Marquez-level margin over other MotoGP Hondas

In the absence of Marc Marquez, it has fallen to Alex Rins to thoroughly dominate the other Honda MotoGP riders at COTA

MotoGP

Riders’ theories about MotoGP’s first calm sprint race

MotoGP’s third-ever sprint race was substantially calmer than the first two. Why, and is that going to be the new normal or was Austin an anomaly? Here are what the riders reckon

MotoGP

V4 future? Quartararo wants a radical Yamaha MotoGP change

A disconsolate Fabio Quartararo has admitted Yamaha is “years behind” its MotoGP opponents right now and needs to make a dramatic change. Is that change a move to a V4 engine?

MotoGP

Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha MotoGP switch feels less likely than ever

Rumblings from the Jerez test and public rhetoric suggest Toprak Razgatlioglu is unlikely to win the battle for a 2024 Yamaha MotoGP ride

MotoGP

‘Four-asphalt’ COTA controversial again among MotoGP grid

Rider discontent with the quality and smoothness of the Circuit of the Americas surface has once again been raised after the first day of practice ahead of the 2023 race

MotoGP

Latest on Honda’s much-anticipated new MotoGP chassis

Repsol Honda rider Joan Mir says that the team’s upcoming trial of a new RC213V chassis built by Kalex will not be the silver bullet it needs

MotoGP

New off-track demands could cause more MotoGP injuries – Zarco

Johann Zarco wants MotoGP to strike a better balance between the stress of the new schedule on-track and the off-track activities

MotoGP

Details emerge of out-of-sight, injury-causing MotoGP incident

Joan Mir has cleared up the circumstances of the MotoGP crash that had left him concussed – and the part a rival played

MotoGP

Bagnaia interview: Quartararo sympathy and Rossi contrast

Defending MotoGP champion Pecco Bagnaia tells Simon Patterson why he’ll never match his mentor Valentino Rossi’s fame and why he feels sympathy for Fabio Quartararo’s early-2023 struggles

MotoGP

Another lost MotoGP title bid can be last Marquez/Honda straw

The 2023 MotoGP season already looks a write-off for Marc Marquez, at least in terms of what he’s in the championship to do: win titles. Simon Patterson asks how that will test his relationship with Honda

MotoGP

Ranking Razgatlioglu’s options for a 2024 MotoGP switch

If World Superbike champion Toprak Razgatlioglu made the switch to MotoGP which team would he join? Simon Patterson rank his options

MotoGP

‘One day, we go to MotoGP’ – The meaning of VR46’s first win

The Race speaks to Uccio Salucci, team boss and Valentino Rossi’s right-hand man, about the significance of VR46’s first MotoGP win as a team

MotoGP

Is this the only motorsport tyre that everyone actually loves?

Tyres (and their suppliers) get a rough ride from the teams and drivers and riders that use them in motorsport. But is Michelin’s wet MotoGP offering a rare, popular outlier? This season’s only rookie was glowing in his review

MotoGP

More proof needed after Morbidelli ‘confidence injection’

Argentina saw the best MotoGP version of Franco Morbidelli in at least two years. But with joy came an understanding – it’s not enough yet

MotoGP

Why Aprilia’s ultra-promising MotoGP weekend ended ‘in the s**t’

Considering what looked possible, Aprilia’s Argentina MotoGP weekend was a horror show it is unlikely to forget any time soon

MotoGP

Argentine Grand Prix 2023 MotoGP rider rankings

From consistent frontrunning pace to sprint race star turns, a weekend of variable weather allowed for plenty of riders to shine at Termas de Rio Hondo. How are those performances reflected in our Argentina MotoGP rider rankings?

MotoGP

Mir out with head and neck trauma, MotoGP field down to 17

MotoGP’s Argentina Grand Prix will feature just 17 riders now that Joan Mir has been sidelined with “head and neck trauma”

MotoGP

Argentine GP reveals how much tougher new format makes MotoGP

The pre-season Portimao test made the 2023 MotoGP season-opening Portuguese Grand Prix easier than it might have been for riders and teams. The true challenge of the new sprint format is really hitting home in Argentina this weekend

MotoGP

Aprilia’s Argentina MotoGP secret: ‘Less bad than the others’

Both Aprilia MotoGP riders are super fast in the Argentina MotoGP weekend so far. Neither is at all comfortable

MotoGP

Quartararo in ‘worst situation’ after Argentina MotoGP practice

Fabio Quartararo was left aghast and confused after showing “no speed” in Friday MotoGP practice in Argentina

MotoGP

Gas Gas chooses injured Espargaro’s MotoGP stand-in

Jonas Folger finally gets the chance to return to MotoGP after an absence of nearly six years, as his old team Tech3 picks him as the injured Pol Espargaro’s stand-in

MotoGP

‘From mouth to ear’ – Rage over Espargaro’s ‘unacceptable’ injury

Aleix Espargaro says the circumstances of the crash that left brother Pol “very lucky” to escape with just major injuries are “unacceptable”

MotoGP

Miller: I’m MotoGP’s most doubted rider – and I don’t know why

KTM MotoGP newcomer Jack Miller says he is puzzled by what he perceives as the status of the rider “doubted more than anybody on this grid”

MotoGP

Marquez verdict delayed as Honda appeal is passed to higher body

A decision on Honda’s appeal over Marc Marquez’s penalty for the Portimao crash has been delayed, and is now in the hands of the MotoGP Court of Appeal

MotoGP

‘Then we got angrier’ – Why RNF escalated MotoGP penalty row

RNF Aprilia team principal Razlan Razali explained to The Race why his team released a statement calling for “stricter” and “severe” penalties in the aftermath of Marc Marquez wiping out Miguel Oliveira at Portimao

MotoGP

Does MotoGP have an unseen offences problem?

The FIM MotoGP stewards need to take a better look at incidents further down the field as well as those at the front, says Aprilia MotoGP rider Aleix Espargaro

MotoGP

‘Our interests violated’ – Honda appeals Marquez penalty deferral

The MotoGP stewards’ move to ensure Marc Marquez serves his Miguel Oliveira crash penalty on track has been appealed by Honda

MotoGP

Miller has faith debut form will stay despite KTM’s streaky past

KTM’s recent MotoGP reputation is that of unsustained high points. Jack Miller’s debut was certainly a high point – so can it last?

MotoGP

How MotoGP’s ‘Mr. Dependable’ tripled his DNF tally in one round

Luca Marini says he doesn’t think he “ever enjoyed one lap” on the Portimao MotoGP season opener. A second crash in two days probably didn’t help that feeling. But was there a mitigating factor?

MotoGP

Four riders out. What caused MotoGP’s brutal 2023 opener?

Four riders sustained injuries in MotoGP’s 2023 season-opener that will suspend their seasons – but what made the Portimao weekend so brutal? How much responsibility should Dorna and the circuit take and how much was down to the new format?

MotoGP

MotoGP stewards move to delay Marquez’s penalty

The FIM MotoGP stewards have rewritten and reissued the double long lap sanction handed to Marc Marquez following Sunday’s Portuguese GP