Motorsport101

What'chu know about seven? Pay me!  Dre, Cam and RJ are back with another biking edition of Motorsport101, as MotoGP headed to Balaton Park for the sport's first Hungarian Grand Prix for 33 years! And with it, a shocking result - Marc Marquez extending his winning streak to 14, winning both his 7th Sprint and GP in a row, and his 10th of 2025.  We talk about the biggest talking point of the weekend - Balaton Park itself, with much controversy over the tracks potential safety hazards and whether it should remain on the calendar for the long term. Dre, has a hot take, he doesn't hate it...  Of course beyond the obvious of Marquez's brilliance, we also talk about the other contenders around him. Marco Bezzecchi's fourth podium in his last five GP's as he cements himself as the sport's leading chaser. How Pedro Acosta recovered from a dreadful Saturday to a great Sunday. And how Fermin Aldeguer tried and failed to follow-up on his excellent Austrian weekend.  There's also a silly season review as Jack Miller

Our bikes is back! MotoGP finally returns after a three-week summer break, and the sport heading to Austria and the Red Bull Ring for Round 13 of 22, and the second verse was the same as the first for Marc Marquez who took his sixth Sprint and Grand Prix win in a row.  But again, it wasn't a straight forward story for Marc, who had to fight off a valiant effort from Marco Bezzecchi, who was at it again with his third podium in the last four races, and a surprise late onrush from Fermin Aldeguer who stormed through to second from ninth on the grid, and his career highest finish to date. But taking up another large chunk of the Podcast, was the struggles of Pecco Bagnaia, and a Sprint race where he had to park it due to what he claimed was a dud rear tyre, and a bullying off the road in the race where he dropped to eighth place. Just what is going on in his camp, with Pecco admitting that he's "running out of patience" with Ducati in the wait for answers. Code for something else, or just general frustration?

It was inevitable and we all saw it coming - But Alex Palou can finally say he's a four-time IndyCar Series Champion. Yes, it was a gift after Pato O'Ward's ECU burnt to a crisp, but it was all wrapped up in an intense decider in Portland as IndyCar heads towards the end of its 2025 season. Will Power did what he had to do at the front, using an alternate strategy and immense raw pace to leapfrog Felix Rosenqvist and then lead from the front, holding off Christian Lundgaard and an off-sequence Alex Palou at the end in a tense but ultimately futile final fight. Power wins to avoid Penske's first winless season since 1999, and questions remain asked - Is it time for Penske to move on from one its greatest drivers? There was also an intense fight between Conor Daly and Christian Rasmussen that ended with Daly careening into the outside wall at over 100mph, and accusations that the Dane did it on purpose. But Dre argues it wasn't as simple as that and we'll debate that on the show. And finally, FOX now owns a

The Motorsport101 gang is back in full! Dre, Cam and RJ are back to make sense of a highly strategic and tense Hungarian Grand Prix, celebrating their 40th edition of the staple race on the calendar. (And Dre drops some important personal news) McLaren pulled off their fourth 1-2 finish in a row, the first time they've done so since Senna and Prost in 1988 - But it didn't come easy! Oscar Piastri had to deal with a resurgent return to form for Charles Leclerc, who led from pole for two-thirds of the race. Unfortunately for the Monaco man, a strange change in his car after the final round of stops crippled the Scuderia.  It also opened the door for Lando Norris to come back from fifth on the opening laps, run the optimal 1-stop strategy and come back to win, holding off Piastri at the end. Should McLaren be running both cars on the same strategy? Is it unfair? We also deep dive on that horrible stricken Ferrari and a calamitous weekend on the whole as Lewis Hamilton qualified and finished 12th and called hi

He's almost there. And in a near flawless fashion, Alex Palou put one hand and four fingers on the Astor Cup, with another dominating, suffocating display at Laguna Seca. And with his eighth win of the season, Palou is now chasing history, and one of the oldest records in North American Motorsport history. Dre and RJ review what was a comprehensive beating of the field, ahead of Christian Lundgaard's McLaren and Colton Herta's Andretti, and what it'll take for Palou to win the title in Portland this weekend, a track he's won at twice before.  There's also a chat about some of the mishaps in the field, such as Simpson and Rosenqvist's Lap 1 tangle, and the continued incompetence of IndyCar's stewarding, with Rinus Veekay and Marcus Ericsson left vulnerable on track for nearly two minutes each as the series was reluctant to throw the caution. 

Apologies this was a day later than planned. Safe to say, something came up. - Dre Dre and RJ sit down to review Formula 1's Belgian Grand Prix and it was a race heavily affected by rain, and opinions on what to do with said rain. Oscar Piastri won a pretty comfortably wet to dry game of tyre conservation as Lando Norris had to over-drive his McLaren on Hards just to keep it close. But it was an 80-minute delay for rain that had people talking about whether F1 is trying to phase out wet running altogether. But is it more complicated than that, with the tyres, and the spray all being potential factors? There's also the small news that Max Verstappen is staying with Red Bull for 2026, with George Russell now suddenly on the brink of signing his own two-year extension with Mercedes for 2027. The pair evaluate the lay of the land and ponder whether Kimi Antonelli might be the man sacrificed instead.  All that, and more including Hamilton's comeback through the pits, why Pierre Gasly might be the sport's most u

Well, that was a race where you may have needed a degree if Mathematics to figure out what was happening. Unfortunately for Dre, his was in Broadcast Journalism.  Anyway, Dre, Cam and RJ review IndyCar's 40th Anniversary of the streets of Toronto, and it took a spirited effort from Pato O'Ward, the right level of aggression and a little bit of strategic fortune for him to take his second victory in a week and hit a huge three to cut his Championship deficit down to 99. I know, huge implications, etc. We also talk the contiuned struggles of Team Penske, after Scott McLaughlin's race lasted 5 minutes via a wheel that wasn't correctly attached, and Josef Newgarden crashing out yet again, this time being mounted unfortunately by Jacob Abel.  It was also a podium for the underdog, as Pato's glory was shared by a brilliant Rinus Veekay in second, Dale Coyne's first podium finish since David Malukas in Gateway 2022, andf Kyffin Simpson scored his first podium for Chip Ganassi Racing in third. But it makes you won

This is getting kinda one-sided, ain't it? Marc Marquez takes his fifth double victory in a row, and his eighth out of the 12 races in 2025 so far. And with his brother failing to score a point all weekend, it pushes his Championship lead up to 120 points. We went from the consistency of Alex being a title threat to pondering just how early Marc will wrap this up.  It wasn't straight forward though - We got another controversial Sprint as tyre pressures reared their ugly head and we saw both factory Dukes drop back on purpose... but should they have done? Turns out Dorna got their sums wrong. We also had a banner day for Aprilia, with Jorge Martin back and solid in 7th, Raul Fernandez finishing as top independent in 5th, and Marco Bezzecchi second for the second time in the last three weekends. Are they back? We also discuss a potential gamechanger for the sport, as the sport's factory suppliers team up to take on Dorna for a potential F1-style "Concorde Agreement" as they want a bigger slice of the sport's

Sorry this ended up more than a week off, been mad busy with the day job (Dre speaking), but here's a review of our Double Header from Iowa over in IndyCar. And it as a weekend centered around Josef Newgarden, in every sense. In an alternate universe, he probably wins both races as the clear class of field. But in a classic Penske in 2025 moment, he ends up with neither. In Race 1, Pato O'Ward overcuts him to get in front and stay there to win. And in Race 2, two awfully timed cautions boxed Newgarden into the midfield where he had to climb back out of, and could only manage 10th... WAIT, they let Alex Palou win on a short oval now too? Speaking of Newgarden, there's also a conversation around the idea that the hate he's getting from around IndyCar has gone too far. With FOX mocking him for not talking after sessions and interviews, to other journos looking for a pound of flesh, has the series drank too much of the haterade? All that and more on another M101!

Welcome back to the King of the Ring - Did you miss it? Dre's being totally honest in the intro, he feels like listening to this would be charity given we all bloody well knew what was about to happen, and yet here we are! Yep, Marc Marquez took both the Sprint and the Grand Prix in what ended up as his 9th MotoGP win in Germany, his 12th in all the classes, and his 69th Premier Class win, bringing him past Agostini for second on the all-time winners list. For Marc, at least the Sprint was interesting, with him having to come back from 5th on the grid after a poor start and a couple of near crashes. Yes, this is Marquez now and this is all we've got. The race itself stood out for a different reason - The first corner of poor judgement. Six bikes would crash into the hairpin to open the lap - Ogura, Mir, Zarco, Bezzecchi, Diggia and Savadori, all hitting the gravel. We explain how that came to be.  Also, the Jorge Martin contract dispute finally got resolved - Martin's backed down. Whoops. So how did the Ma

Here it is folks, Episode Number 600 of the Motorsport101 Podcast! After nearly 11 years, we've reached another incredible milestone, and we couldn't have done it without our incredible audience, thank you so much for listening, watching, and supporting us. As we've so often said, you're the best audience in the world and it's a privlege we get to entertain you. To celebrate the occasion, RJ suggested a watchalong of arguably the greatest Indy 500 of them all, the 1992 edition of the race. It was an Indy 500 in startling cold weather, stuck in the single-digit degrees, with a wind-chill dropping it to almost zero, a huge rate of attrition, and in the end, the closest finish in the history of the Indy 500, with just feet separating Al Unser Jr. and Scott Goodyear, who came all the way back from 32nd on the grid to nearly win it all.  It's a special, nearly 200 minute version of the Podcast, and if you really like us, head over to our Patreon page at Patreon.com/Motorsport101 to listen to an enhanced version

Oh dear. Just when you thought Alex Palou had it in the bag, he goes and looks human for just about the first time all season! Dre and RJ are joined by Frontstretch.com's Chris DeHarde to review IndyCar's Indy200 at Mid-Ohio, where Alex Palou dominated the running of the race, leading over 60 laps from pole position, and was looking great until running wide at Turn 9 opened the door for a fuel-saving win from Scott Dixon! With it, the Kiwi stretches his streak to 21 consecutive seasons with a win, and his 23rd in North American Motorsport. Did Dixon win it, or did Palou lose it? Also, another look in at Team Penske, with Josef Newgarden in particular drawing focus for another DNF, crashing out on the opening lap when he locked a rear axel and went into the wall. Just what is causing the former Champion's struggles? All that and more, on another Motorsport101! 

Thank the Racing Gods we were here to make a Podcast about this one BEFORE the news dropped for one. But yes, the reason this Podcast went up straight away is because we had to address Christian Horner being sacked from Red Bull Racing after 20 years on the job. We talk about the role the Verstappen camp MAY have played in it, what next for Horner, Red Bull and Racing Bulls with Laurent Meikes and Alan Permane taking the jobs left behind. We also review the British Grand Prix, with Nico Hulkenberg stealing the show to take his first podium in F1 after 239 career starts and 15 years in the making, in a genuine feel good moment for the whole sport. Oh, and Lando Norris also won his home GP after Oscar Piastri make a mistake and broke too hard as the Safety Car's lights went out. Unideal. But with the title fight down to just 8 points, has the momentum shifted in the Brits favour? And how cool was that Hulkenberg podium again? There's also more on Alpine's sneaky sixth, Ferrari and Mercedes crapping the bed ta

If there was ever a time for Marc Marquez to turn the screw on the MotoGP World Championship, this was the one.  It's a little late, so forgive us, but here's our review of the Assen TT, where Marc Marquez was bruised, battered and still victorious with his fifth double victory of 2025. This was despite two big crashes during the weekend, including a cup check of the unfortunate variety on Friday, and more accusations that brother Alex is softballin' him after a close fought Sprint. But with Marco Bezzecchi following Marc all the way home, it led to an intense fight all the way to the flag. It also led to heartbreak for brother Alex, who got caught in a tangle of arms with Pedro Acosta, and went down at 120mph, breaking a metacarpal in his hand in the process. It puts Alex back to 68 points behind his brother, and likely some painkillers in Germany.  There's also Pecco Bagnaia's continued struggles, and the latest episode of Jorge Martin's contract beef, as his agent Albert Valera went to Assen with every

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have another race long battle in the hills of Spielberg, and this time, it was the British driver who came out on top. Dre, Cam and RJ review the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, with a lot of different stories to tell. At the front, it was Lando Norris who won the battle with Oscar Piastri and held off the Australian's stronger pace in open air to win his third race of the year and reduce his Championship arrears to just 15 points. Is it a sign that the title race is back on, or was it ever really off to begin with? Further behind, Max Verstappen was taken out on the opening lap, and it became a visual metaphor for the last week of discourse. Is Max not only out of the title race, but out of Red Bull altogether. George Russell explaining that he hadn't been given an contract offer yet, and the reason why is because Toto Wolff is still talking to Max. Can Mercedes talk Max into a move? Is George trying to rock the boat? Is Toto going to cut Kimi Antonelli for Max, or George? Many, ma

Oh dear, it's happened again. Dre, Cam and RJ review what was a wild weekend from IndyCar at one of our Podcast's favourite circuites, the Xpel Grand Prix at Road America. It was another brilliant victory for Alex Palou, who came back from being roughed up early on and had to navigate chaos, 5 cautions and multiple moments of Penske's running cars off the road to get to the front, and then defeat teammmate Scott Dixon in a game of fuel-saving. That Damn Spaniard really is a magician, forcing Dixon to stop and holding off Felix Rosenqvist right at the final lap.  We talk about Palou's brilliance, that fuel save, and Santino Ferrucci's hot form, skulling a beer after his second podium finish of the season and his fourth straight Top 5 finish. There's also more at the bottom end of the table as Josef Newgarden suffered another crash to take him down to 17th in points and 249 behind Alex Palou. Is there anything to salvage from their season? There's also a chat about the new car that the series will be debuti

Well, talk about the air being sucked out of the room, phew.  On the one hand - We got the huge story that the European Commission has finally given Liberty Media the green light to complete their 84% purchase of Dorna Sports, MotoGP's commercial rights holder, with Chase Carey and Sean Bratches now on the big board of directors. What does it mean for the sport, and what does Liberty need to do to improve MotoGP? There's also a full review of the Italian Grand Prix, as Marc Marquez dominated the weekend with pole, a Sprint Win, and after a heated early skirmish, a comfortable Grand Prix win too, pulling away from Alex Marquez, with Pecco Bagania dropping to fourth after cooking his rear tyre in the back half of the race. Does it feel like the title race is over already?! In any case, it's 93 for 93.  There's also a chat about Pecco's struggles, the new Maroon Ducati's, the Twitter beef between Dre over Alex Marquez's raccraft, and Franco Morbidelli riding through KTM's Maverick Vinales. 

Oh boy, everyone's getting their first oval wins this year. Kyle Kirkwood is becoming a real problem.  Dre, RJ and special guest Ryan Erik King review what was one of the best IndyCar races of 2025, the Bonmarito Auto 500 from WWT/Gateway Raceway. And in a race that was defined by a huge Josef Newgarden/Louis Foster wreck, it was Kyle Kirkwood who took his 3rd win of the season and his first on an oval race, just like Alex Palou did back in May.  The trio also break down the state of the title picture as Pato O'Ward's second place makes me a realistic three horse race, Christian Rasmussen becoming IndyCar's Mr Excitement with a spectacular podium finish for ECR Racing, and has David Malukas let his huge opportunity slip to join Team Penske? All that and more on another M101!

Sometimes, the story writes itself. On the face of it, a strange Le Mans. No major wrecks. Just one Safety Car in 24 hours of racing, and just a handful of Full Course Yellows. A Hypercar distance record, the second fastest race on average speed since the series moved on from LMP1... and yet, you've probably read the headlines. Robert Kubica, spearheading the timing sheets and the lap counter, led the AF Corse "privateer" Ferrari to glory, their third Le Mans win in a row, and with Ye Yifei and Phil Hanson in tow, Poland and China's first overall winners, period. RJ O'Connell, Cam Buckley, Dre Harrison and returning guest Ryan Erik King all break down a polarising Le Mans. Despite just the second closest ever finish on time, it was a Le Mans that Ferrari never really felt like they could lose, given they were in 1-2-3 vicegrip on the standings for a good 12 hours of the race, with only the #6 Porsche of Estre, Vanthoor and Campbell truly posing a threat. Was this good for the sport? Hard to say with the ACO

Just when you thought the title race was looking pencilled in, it takes another twist thanks to Lando Norris losing his patience. Dre, Cam and a returning RJ O'Connell sit down to talk the F1 Canadian Grand Prix, as George Russell would take complete control of the weekend, and winning from pole, holding off a stalemate of pace and early attacks from Max Verstappen, his teammate Kimi Antonelli, and arguably the most vulnerable McLaren have looked all season, marking the first time in 11 races in 2025 that the Papaya failed to take a spot on the podium.  But we all know why you're here - Lando Norris driving into the back of Oscar Piastri and taking him out with just four laps to go. A loss of patience? Another Norris mental fight? Does he have to be something he's not in order to win a Championship? There's also a huge amount of residual news - The protest that was thrown out, as well as the suspension of steward Derek Warwick for taking bookmaker money for his opinions, the 9-year extension to the race it