Simon Patterson

MotoGP

What might Marco Simoncelli’s MotoGP career have looked like?

Would Marco Simoncelli have led Ducati’s mid-2010s MotoGP recovery? Would he be a rider-mentor at VR46 today? We’ll never know how his career would’ve played out, but it’s tantalising to imagine

MotoGP

How MotoGP grid reacted to ‘controversial and difficult’ age rule

The minimal age hike for all levels of grand prix racing has yielded a mix of approval and surprise from the MotoGP grid

MotoGP

Why new RNF MotoGP team has such a short Yamaha deal

What’s currently Petronas will be reinvented as RNF for the 2022 MotoGP season, but it only has one year of Yamaha supply for now. Here’s why, and everything else going on around the team right now

MotoGP

Minimal age raised in MotoGP, lower classes after ’21 tragedies

Motorcycle racing governing body, the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme, has announced a sweeping change to the minimum ages of riders in grand prix racing

MotoGP

Darryn Binder is no Jack Miller. This MotoGP jump is too big

Darryn Binder will become only the second rider to jump directly from Moto3 to MotoGP when he joins the RNF Yamaha outfit in 2022. But given his lacklustre CV, he’s unlikely to achieve what Jack Miller was able to when he made the same step in 2015

MotoGP

Binder’s Moto3-MotoGP move prompts bafflement and support

Moto3 midfielder Darryn Binder’s leap straight into MotoGP for 2022 is ‘the most bizarre move ever’ according to one premier class rider, but others have been more supportive

MotoGP

Ducati becomes MotoE constructor in first electric bike move

Ducati will replace Energica as the bike supplier for MotoGP’s electric series MotoE from 2023, despite not yet producing electric motorcycles

MotoGP

Yamaha’s new satellite team has one-year MotoGP deal

MotoGP manufacturer Yamaha has confirmed that its 2022 satellite team partner will be former Sepang International Circuit CEO Razlan Razali’s new RNF Racing, with the Malaysian forming a wholly new squad from the ashes of the Petronas Yamaha SRT outfit to take over running the independent class team

MotoGP

Moto3 rider Binder gets 2022 MotoGP Yamaha deal

Moto3 rider Darryn Binder will leap up to MotoGP’s top class in 2022, after signing a deal to ride with the new RNF Racing Yamaha outfit

MotoGP

Ducati may have short-term fix for its embarrassment of riches

Ducati’s newest MotoGP star could yet get a works-spec bike in 2022 – but the longer-term picture for how to fit in all its riders is unclear

MotoGP

Valentino Rossi’s best and worst home MotoGP races

Misano this weekend will be Valentino Rossi’s final MotoGP start in Italy. His home record contains some glorious highs, and some real career lows

MotoGP

Avintia parts ways with mechanic who faked COVID test result

The Avintia Ducati squad has parted ways with the team member whose pass was revoked earlier this week by MotoGP organiser Dorna for forging a PCR test certificate

MotoGP

MotoGP mechanic banned for faking COVID test result

A mechanic from a ‘major’ MotoGP team has been suspended after being found to have faked a PCR test result

MotoGP

MotoGP is missing a big Spa 24 Hours opportunity

The revival of motorcycling’s Spa 24 Hours for 2022 is great news. The fact no MotoGP riders can get involved continues a sad trend

MotoGP

Can Bagnaia’s Misano mastery revive MotoGP title fight?

Fabio Quartararo’s MotoGP lead is formidable, but the next track is perfectly suited for Francesco Bagnaia to keep the title battle alive

MotoGP

Why Suzuki is now hunting for a Brivio replacement after all

Suzuki expected to get by as is following Davide Brivio’s departure for F1 – but it’s now looking to replace him after all, and has something of a shortlist

MotoGP

Oncu ban doesn’t fix MotoGP’s reactive stewarding issue

More severe penalties are needed to stamp out dangerous riding in MotoGP and its support classes argues Simon Patterson, with a more proactive approach than just banning a rider after the fact

MotoGP

Marquez’s painfully long MotoGP recovery is far from over

Marc Marquez looked to be back to his best with his seventh MotoGP win at COTA, but he’s still got a long way to go

MotoGP

Why Yamaha’s works MotoGP recruit accepts ‘sustainable pain’

Franco Morbidelli knows his MotoGP injury lay-off should’ve been longer – but the new Yamaha works rider believes he simply had to return early

MotoGP

Aprilia’s handling of Vinales’ absence is part of a wider shift

Aprilia’s “full and unconditional support” of a grieving Maverick Vinales was no surprise, but it’s clear that the team’s treatment of riders has improved

MotoGP

Rossi’s saved himself from a miserable and embarrassing 2022

Right up until the moment Valentino Rossi announced his MotoGP retirement, there was still doubt over whether he’d really walk away when 2022 offers were on the table. But his form since that decision has showed how badly it would’ve gone if he’d raced on

MotoGP

Honda’s 2020 MotoGP saviour is now fighting for his future

Last year Takaaki Nakagami rescued Honda’s MotoGP season. But 2021 has been very different, and with a rising star looking over his shoulder, Nakagami’s racing for his career

MotoGP

‘Huge’ COTA step bodes well for MotoGP’s star returnee

A 13th-place finish doesn’t sound like much for Andrea Dovizioso – but his early progress on the Yamaha MotoGP bike has exceeded expectations

MotoGP

How Marquez pulled off a seemingly impossible MotoGP win

Marc Marquez is the first to admit he’s still far from full fitness. Yet he’s just won the most physically-punishing MotoGP race of 2021 so far

MotoGP

Austin MotoGP rider ratings 2021

Simon Patterson passes judgement on the MotoGP field’s performances on a fraught Austin weekend, with some blunt verdicts on pacesetters who wasted their chances

MotoGP

MotoGP rivals Miller and Mir at odds again despite apology

Jack Miller had little use for Joan Mir’s apology after their COTA MotoGP clash – but Mir himself doesn’t believe he deserved a penalty

MotoGP

Miller f***ing sick of tyre woes, but Marquez raises a doubt

Jack Miller was firm favourite for Austin MotoGP pole given his practice pace, but then he only qualified 10th. While he hinted at faulty tyres, Marc Marquez had a different take

MotoGP

With short race idea rejected, MotoGP riders fear chaos

MotoGP riders say their proposal for a shortened grand prix at Austin amid concerns about worsening track bumps was laughed off, and now they’re braced for a race of attrition

MotoGP

MotoGP riders’ ultimatum for any future COTA races

MotoGP riders have given their ‘minimum’ demands to the Circuit of the Americas for the track to host any further premier-class races

MotoGP

Does Yamaha upheaval open door to surprise MotoGP switch?

As Yamaha’s MotoGP satellite team situation continues to develop, could its World Superbike star yet re-enter the picture?

MotoGP

MotoGP needs to change its culture around concussion

With MotoGP safety gains making broken bones less common, the focus needs to be on another injury – one that doesn’t feel like it’s taken seriously enough by the paddock

MotoGP

Is Qatar’s F1 race really ‘bad news’ for MotoGP?

As Qatar gears up for its F1 debut, one MotoGP rider admits to fearing the cars will “destroy everything with their downforce”

MotoGP

Marquez drama has diluted Fabrizio’s ‘message of protest’

An unfortunate swipe at Marc Marquez has served to distract from the message ex-MotoGP rider Michel Fabrizio wanted to send after the loss of Dean Berta Vinales

MotoGP

Oliveira has found the solution to end his MotoGP woes

Red Bull KTM MotoGP rider Miguel Oliveira believes he’s finally going to be able to put an end to his miserable run of form after a discovery at Misano

MotoGP

Vinales pulls out of Austin MotoGP round after cousin’s death

Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales has withdrawn from this weekend’s Austin MotoGP race following the passing of his cousin Dean Berta in a World Supersport 300 race at Jerez last weekend

MotoGP

Why Marquez’s Sachsenring heroics will be tough in Austin

Honda’s Marc Marquez has been dominant in Austin previously, but can he replicate that form this weekend on his long journey back from injury?

MotoGP

The moment Ducati believes derailed its MotoGP title bid

Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia’s run of MotoGP wins looks like it’s coming too late to stop Fabio Quartararo’s championship victory. Team boss Paolo Ciabatti thinks things might’ve been different without a particular early-season blow

MotoGP

Vinales’ teenage cousin dies after Supersport crash

The motorcycle racing world has suffered another tragedy with the death of 15-year-old Dean Berta Vinales from injuries suffered in a World Supersport 300 race at Jerez

MotoGP

Five of MotoGP’s best number two riders

Jack Miller’s selfless actions at Misano got us thinking about the best number two riders in MotoGP – here’s our list

MotoGP

Why MotoGP’s latest new star will be on an old bike in 2022

Enea Bastianini emerged as Ducati’s latest MotoGP breakout star with his first podium at Misano. But he won’t be on a 2022 bike next year. Here’s why