Motorsport101

Valencia has suffered some horrible flooding in the last few days, with over 150 lives lost. With that in mind, we decided to change tact and talk a little bit about the horrible situation the region is facing at the moment, what could happen if Valencia doesn't host the finale, and how we got to this situation in the title battle with a quick review of the Thailand Grand Prix weekend, with Bagnaia claiming his ninth win of the season and Ai Ogura winning the Moto2 World Championship. Valencia based team Aspar have launched a fundraiser to help support the victims of the flooding. If you can, please donate at the link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/asparteamxvalenciacatastrophe?attribution_id=sl:bb336837-0e27-419e-b7a4-bd36f3755e44&lang=es_ES&utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link

What was that Limmy would often say? If in doubt, don't back down, double down? Well, welcome to F1's 2024 Mexican Grand Prix and yet another Verstappen and Norris Championship flashpoint. The weekend started with a McLaren right to review into the Austin penalty that Lando Norris recieved, and while we all thought it was going to get thrown out, it did prompt another round of discussions as to the FIA and its guidelines on overtaking fairly, and the talk that those rules are set to be changed again. Should they? Dre and RJ also break down the two incidents that Max caused during the race itself that led into 20 seconds worth of time penalties for the Dutchman and his Championship lead being reduced down to 47 points.  Oh and by the way, Ferrari won again! Carlos Sainz dominated the whole weekend to take a comfortable win and with Charles Leclerc scoring 16 points in 3rd with the Fastest Lap, Maranello sits just 29 points behind McLaren in the battle for the Constructors Championship. It's not on, surely?

This wasn't a race, it was a duel between Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin. And for the second year in a row, Martin was pipped at the last as Marquez took the race by the scruff of the neck and won one of the fastest MotoGP races in modern history - 51 seconds faster than 2023's edition and on the same bike! Dre, Cam and RJ break down a heated front fight between the two at the front as Pecco Bagnaia fell to third and 10 seconds off the lead. There was also controversy as Marco Bezzecchi was actually punished for a Long Lap Penalty despite being caught in Maverick Vinales' aero wake post-sprint. Dre and Cam go OFF on the state of stewarding and ponder if it's even fit for purpose.  There's a bunch of catch-up news too, including Toprak's World Superbike Title, Carlos Tatay getting his insurance money (At fucking last), and KTM's financial struggles. All that and more on another Motorsport101!

It was the track limits penalty seen around the world. Lando Norris and Max Verstappen take an off-road excursion and for some reason, Lando was given a time penalty for it. All that while Charles Leclerc dominated the race and took home a 1-2 for Ferrari. Safe to say, this was a busy one!  Dre, Cam and RJ break down the controversial penalty as Lando Norris dropped off the podium as a result of leaving the track and gaining an advantage, even while Max Verstappen forced him off the road. We discuss how Max is bending a flawed rulebook to his will and why Norris might have been a bit naive about the situation.  We also break down Ferrari at the front, while not bringing an upgrade package to COTA unlike their rivals, they were still able to dominate the running. And with Maranello just 48 points back from the Constructors Championship lead, are they back in the race for not just second, but the outright title? There's also some clean up like the Haas/Toyota partnership, Liam Lawson's return as he gained 10

It's Season Review time again on the Motorsport101 Podcast network and in this edition, it's time for the boys to review the 2024 IndyCar Season! The boys spend 140 minutes going up and down the grid and talk about their season, highlights and lowlights, and what's to come for 2025. There was a lot to catch up with that we didn't give full coverage to, like Ed Carpenter's bold move to release Rinus Veekay for Alexander Rossi at ECR, what next for Juncos, and Marcus Armstrong leaving Chip Ganassi for Meyer Shank, their new technical partner. The midfield contains a new name in AJ Foyt and how they might be the team to watch for 2025 with David Malukas inbound - Is that a dress rehearsal for a future Penske seat? And why Dre is fed up with McLaren writing cheques their ass can't cash. And the "Big 6" of the field, we reckon six men could have won the title if it had all fallen their way - Scott McLaughlin, Pato O'Ward, Will Power, Colton Herta, Scott Dixon and even Alex Palou himself weren't unflappable. We

First up, a small apology - We didn't have a show last week due to technical problems. My PC had a Blue Screen of Death and faulty RAM meant I couldn't record properly, apologies for the delay and hence, these episodes being merged in a sense. Apologies again - Dre The last two MotoGP races weren't exactly classics, so much so, we've combined them into one episode, and turns out we ended up talking for an hour anyway, funny that. Indonesia is talked over at the start, as Jorge Martin crashed at his specialist skill - The Sprint Race, before coming back to dominate the Grand Prix and scoring his first race win in four months ahead of Pedro Acosta and Francesco Bagnaia. But there was discussion to be had on the heavy attrition, with just 12 riders finishing the race, more delays over tyre pressure judgements and the startling lack of attendance. Then this past weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, with Pecco dominating again, his fourth perfect weekend of the year with a Sprint/GP Double, with Pedro Acosta taking

It was the overtake heard around the world. Jorge Martin runs slightly wide on the final lap of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, and Enea Bastianini sent it in a divebomb for the win. He ran wide, Jorge nearly crashed with the contact involved, and Bastianini goes on to win his second race of the year. Enter Dre and Cameron, who weren't exactly impressed a divebomb that ugly wasn't even investigated by Freddie Spencer in the stewards box. But it's also the sort of move that goes directly against the sport's rich history of No Holds Barred passing on the final lap. Is this a culture that has to change, or does the sport have the right idea.  There was also the bozo gene kicking in again, as Pecco Bagnaia blamed a dud Michelin rear tyre for his start, before a hasty recovery elad to him endoing the bike and crashing, leaving Jorge Martin with a 24 point lead heading to Argentina. The boys review a Championship that seemingly no one wants to win.  All that and more such as Michelin's beloved new front tyre bein

A newsworthy weekend on and off the track, Motorsport101 is back to review the Singapore Grand Prix and Dre and RJ produce a classic episode. On it, Lando Norris might have just pulled off the strangest dominant win of all-time. On the face of it, 21 seconds in front of Max Verstappen and just a fastest lap away from a Grand Slam. But with three near-misses that nearly led to an embarassing wreck. Lucky or good? Or both? Speaking of Max Verstappen, he was in the middle of a huge swearing scandal as FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem compared swearing in the sport to rapping, which irked Lewis Hamilton and set off a chain of events that led to community service for Max, and him holding his own press conferences outside (Blackjack and Hookers not included). Dre goes OFF on this one, claiming almost everyone involved in the story *unserious*. And we may not have realised it at the time, but we may have just witnessed Daniel Ricciardo's final race in F1, with RB set to drop the Aussie for Liam Lawson immediate

And when it was all said and done, the Championship was partly decided by an unfasted harness buckle. Brutal.  Anyway, welcome to Episode 544 of Motorsport101 and on this edition, we review the IndyCar Championship finale at Nashville Superspeedway. Alex Palou came into the week with a 32 point lead, and then a poor qualifying session opened the door to Will Power potentially getting involved in the title picture... until he wasn't. That freed up the way for Alex Palou to cruise to his third Astor Cup in four years, and the first to retain the title since Dario Franchitti's three-peat in 2011.  We talk about the aftermath of that decider, as well as the race itself, which Colton Herta won with a stunning late "Zonta" move to beat a hard-charging Pato O'Ward. We also talk about how Nashville held up as a late addition to the calendar, and say goodbye to NBA as they aired their final broadcast before the rights for the series moves to FOX. Heck of a run. And as a bonus, our Keepin' It 101 has Dre talk about

It's been a while since F1 had as near as we get to a good old fashioned barney, and the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was no exception! With Charles Leclerc scoring his fourth straight pole position in Baku, he had the early lead, but a slow outlap and an aggressive Oscar Piastri had him take the lead and then hold off the Monaco man to take his second career win - And this time, he didn't have to swap for it. The gang breakdown how Oscar drove perfect defence in order to win, how Charles cooked his rear tyres when it mattered most, and the horror crash between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz after the pair smashed into the wall on the penultimate lap while fighting for the podium. And with Oscar now just 32 points behind Lando Norris in the standings, did McLaren pull the pin on team orders too early? There's also a breakdown of the rookies as Ollie Bearman AND Franco Colapinto both get into the points, and what that means for the final Sauber seat for 2025, on another loaded Motorsport101 - And Dre Harrison's

Just like London Buses, you wait 1,043 days for the first win to come around and then two come along at once! Marc Marquez took his second win in a week as he dominated the San Marino GP after the rain sprinkled down in the race itself, Francesco Bagnaia made a business decision to take the points, and Jorge Martin had another flare-up of the bozo gene and took a bike swap, with rather painful results. With Marquez just 53 points back, is a title campaign too much of an ask at this point? There's also a chat about Repsol officially leaving Honda after 29 years in partnership. Has the Japanese brand finally hit rock bottom after another miserable season? We also debate the news that radio is set to be debuted in MotoGP in 2025, with an long-term push planned for the messages to be broadcastable to "help the spectacle". Is this the bike killer that so many want it to be, a push for rider safety or something inbetween?  All that and more in another Marquez Week edition, of Motorsport101!

It happened. It finally happened. After 1,043 days between Misano 2021 and Aragon 2024, after four surgeries, two bouts of diplopia, an arm twisted 32 degrees and a changed sport, Marc Marquez is FINALLY back to winning ways and he did it in DOMINANT fashion. Aragon was Marc's weekend. He dominated every single session of the weekend barring a wet Sunday warm-up, qualified on pole by eight-tenths of a second and then hit the Bagnaia in Assen - A Super Grand Slam to have the fastest lap while leading every single lap en route to taking all 37 points on the weekend. It was a masterpiece, and the boys break it all down on this episode. It also reviews the worst weekend of the year so far for Pecco Bagnaia. A dud front tyre and two awful starts from his dirty pitbox led to him barely hanging on for a point in the Sprint, before a tangle with Alex Marquez took him out of what looked like a guaranteed third place. With Martin back in the Championship lead, is the Spaniard the favourite again? And are we STILL in

There is nothing, and I do mean nothing that hits quite like a home victory, and Charles Leclerc has decided to have two of them for the year! Ryan King sticks around to have some chat about the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, and the drama at the front that unfolded, as Oscar Piastri refused to back down on the opening lap as Lando Norris now goes 0-7 on leading second laps from the pole. Ooft. But is it time for team orders after another missed opportunity from the Papaya branded team? Lando and Oscar were trading fastest laps so much they didn't respond to Charles Leclerc behind them, who 1-stopped his way to glory! In this episode we also breakdown Logan Saregant's firing from Williams Racing as Franco Colapinto was drafted in at Monza. Is there any future for him in F1, and was Logan's firing justified? We also talk about Kimi Antonelli having the wildest 18th Birthday party you can imagine, by binning an F1 car! All that and more on a catchup edition of Motorsport101!

Well, this was a dramatic weekend to say the least. It's a four person edition of the Podcast as Ryan Erik King of Jalopnik joins the show, with input as well from FrontStretch's Chris DeHarde with both men and Cam Buckley in attendance in Milwaukee for the weekend itself! And there's a lot to get through, with the series CEO Mark Miles getting into a war of words with one of the series biggest promoters, Pato O'Ward. The argument? That Pato isn't as popular as former driver Adrian Fernandez... which is precisely the problem with IndyCar and its lack of popularity as a whole. We'll explain more on the pod.  We also of course, talk about the good racing itself, as Pato said: "Pato, WHO?" with a comeback win to take his third of the year, with the Penske's taking Race 2, but not without complete chaos. Alex Palou with his car stuck in pitroad with a depleted battery and Will Power with a golden chance to take it the finale on equal terms...  until he spins on his own. All that and a whole lot more on a heape

Well, that was chaotic. IndyCar headed to Gateway for the Bonmarito 500 and the beginning of its five-race post-Olympics run-in to close out the section, and the back end of its race was riddled with more messy racing. Will Power and David Malukas collide when fighting for the lead, with the meme lord going into the wall, a controversial restart by Josef Newgarden leading to Power crashing, and the American being handed an easy win with Scott McLaughlin finishing second. But Race Direction once again came under scrutiny for how they handled that restart. Was Newgarden gaming the rules or were the stewards asleep at the wheel again?  There's also a deep dive into IndyCar's new charter system, nicknamed the 3/22/25/27 programme. The show goes into greater detail, but it freezes out newcomers Prema in 2025 from the Leader's Circle or Charters. Is IndyCar showing the same kind of exclusionary attitudes that F1 and MotoGP are starting to show?  And finally, what about silly season? Is Alexander Rossi on the bri

Whoops, forgot to add a bio here! But yes, welcome to MotoGP's 75th Birthday weekend and to do it, we got a throwback weekend but a very new result as Enea Bastianini took his first double victory in MotoGP history! We talk about how the other Ducati Italian has forced himself back into the title picture after nursing his rear tyres perfectly and beating Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia, with the latter crashing in the Sprint and losing his Championship lead. Does anyone want to actually win this thing? There's also a deep dive on the throwback liveries and the tradition itself and whether it could become a yearly feature for the series and what our favourite paint schemes were. There's also a chat about the races dwindling attendance and Fabio Di Giannantonio's factory contract being confirmed. And finally, is there a way to fix Qualifying in MotoGP?  All that in a heaped 70 minute Olympics edition of Motorsport101!

It was all coming up Milhouse for Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton was leading the Belgian Grand Prix and pulling away from Charles Leclerc. George Russell called his own number and asked to run a 1-stopper, he got to the front and he held off Lewis and Oscar Piastri for a 1-2 finish and George Russell becomes just the second repeat winner this season... ...Until he wasn't. His car was 1,500 grams underweight and as a result, he was disqualified. Lewis Hamilton takes a slightly more awkward win, with Piastri and Leclerc 2nd and 3rd. Dre and RJ breakdown how Russell lost this race, how Hamilton won, and the startegic battle that unfolded in Belgium. Off the track there was huge drama as well, as Carlos Sainz confirmed he was heading to Williams on a two-year deal, Esteban Ocon is heading to Haas, Jack Doohan is probably taking his place and... CHECO IS STAYING?!  All that and more on another team principal change at Alpine on another heaped Motorsport101!

Originally a written article on Motorsport101.com, Dre catches up with all the news hitting Formula 1 before, during and after the Belgian Grand Prix, including Alpine's new team boss, Esteban Ocon going to Haas, Carlos Sainz to Williams, and Red Bull keeping Sergio Perez. 

Bit of a bumper edition of the show on this occasion. Before we get to IndyCar in Toronto, Dre, RJ and Cam discuss the Formula E Season Finale in London, as Pascal Wehrlein would win Race 1 and finish second in Race 2 to steal the title from Jaguar, who while winning their first World Championship since the Sportscar days of 1991, they missed the one title that eluded them, the drivers title, as Nick Cassidy was stuck behidn Pascal Wehrlein, and Mitch Evans had a battery drain after two failed Attack Mode activations. For the New Zealander, it was the THIRD time he's lost out on a last lap decider. Then the action moves to IndyCar in Toronto, as for the first time in 800 days, the Rockstar Colton Herta finally won a race, as he dominated the weekend to hold off Kyle Kirkwood and a hard charging Scott Dixon going from 15th to 3rd, and Alex Palou extending his title lead to 49 points. But it wasn't without drama. Alexander Rossi broke his thumb on Friday practise and in a shock, Theo Pourchaire was called in

Never has such a dominant victory provided so much pointless drama! The timing sheet will say that McLaren had a 1-2 finish by 14 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s 200th career podium in third. But in reality, an ugly team orders scandal broke out that marred Oscar Piastri's first win as Lando Norris was given the lead due to an undercut from the McLaren pitwall and it led to the team begging him to give the win away, which he eventually did. Dre, RJ and Cam try to make sense of a baffling turn of events. There's also a chat about Max Verstappen, who got flack from the internet for a clumsy race, and collission with Lewis Hamilton that cost him a spot on the podium, and an "out" as to his poor performance - Staying up too late racing for Team Redline at 3am in a 24 Hour Sim Race. Too far, or just best to let Max cook? Sergio Perez is also talked about and whether Red Bull will cut him for... (insert Driver here), as well as Audi moving on from Andreas Seidl as he leaves Audi and in his place... Mattia Binot