Motorsport101

Sorry it's taken a bit longer than billed, but here's a big IndyCar catchup Podcast before our Arlington episode drops this weekend as the season finally takes a proper chill week!Dre and RJ wrap-up a very straightforward beat em' up weekend for Alex Palou in St Petersberg as Marcus Ericsson and Scott McLaughlin could only try to keep up, but spend the majority of the time catching up on all things Phoenix, returning to the IndyCar calendar for the first time in eight years, and with it - A huge win for Josef Newgarden to dethrone Alex Palou's 22-race streak of leading the standings.How we got there? Another Palou and Rinus Veekay collision on an oval. Whoops. Phoenix also gave us another potentially brilliant oval performance from Christian Rasmussen, who RJ has now nicknamed "Mr Excitement" was on the brink of a potential win, until he had a crash with Will Power in the late stages, damaging his car out of competition. All that and more discussed as Dre and RJ go in depth on the season so far, in this episode of Motorsport101!

After all the talk, all the hype and all the debate, the 2026 F1 Season finally got underway at the Australian Grand Prix in Albert Park, and it was a hectic event to say the least. Adrian Newey said his car was unsafe for purpose before we even turned a wheel!Mercedes were every bit the bookies favourite many thought they were, taking complete control of the weekend with a 1-2 finish. But we didn't get there without a huge FP3 crash and a race against the clock for the Mercedes pitcrew to fix it in time. Not ideal! It also had to deal with Max Verstappen spinning into the wall, Ferrari punching them in the nose via a lightning start, and Oscar Piastri crashing on his sighting lap. Strange way of keeping the curse alive. Dre and RJ debate all of that, as well as promising signs out of Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, Gabriel Bortoleto scoring points for Audi on debut, Arvid Lindblad doing the same for Racing Bulls, and why Aston Martin is even more fucked than we thought. And are they throwing Honda under the bus?

And finally, just in the nick of time, here's our F1 Season Preview! Dre, Cam and RJ break down everything you need to know about the 2026 season, from the brand new car, the complicated new mechanics behind them, and then go team-by-team breaking down the state of the field!Aston Martin gets moved to the top of the order as we examine their pre-season from hell, and an AMR26 that feels unfinished as it gets unwrapped at Albert Park. We join them alongside the new team in Cadillac and how their first steps into F1 have gone down, and Williams, who are rumoured to be heavily overweight again.Then there's the midfield, which could be a very nasty scrap between Haas, the new repackaged Audi team, Racing Bulls and Britain's youngest ever F1 driver in Arvid Lindblad, and a return to form for Alpine, now powered by Mercedes.And then the top contenders, who all think someone else amongst them are fastest. Red Bull scaring the field early with powerful energy deployment, Ferrari's innovations like a smaller turbo and a "Rotisserie Chicken" active rear wing, and then Mercedes the heavy favourites vs the quiet McLaren as reigning Champions, but why? All that and more in a heaped final M101 before F1 2026 kicks off!

The first regular episode of the Motorsport101 Podcast in quite sometime as our main series kick off to start 2026, and here comes MotoGP's Season Opener from Buriram for the Thai Grand Prix. And for Marco Bezzecchi, he started 2026 how he ended 2025, with victory!Aprilia's greatest day in MotoGP, with all, four of their bikes in the Top 5, taking advantage of Michelin's stiffer casing on their tyres, and an F-Duct device last seen in Formula 1 in 2010 with McLaren. As you do! But the weekend also had a controversial moment in the Sprint Race as Marc Marquez was stripped off the win due to an illegal overtake on Pedro Acosta in a fight that both men seemingly loved. Was it the right call? Dre, RJ and Cam discuss!There's also more on the state of Yamaha's struggles, whether Ducati should be nervous and more!

Man, we flew in terms of pace on this one. 20 minutes on the big track news and we still got it done in less than 100. Go us!Dre Harrison, Cam Buckley and RJ O'Connell sit down to preview the 2026 MotoGP Season, and it's off the back of some heated circuit news - Phillip Island, the holy grail of MotoGP races in Australia, is moving to the Adelaide Street Circuit in 2027, on a six-year deal. There's a lot going on there, in terms of Australian Politics, the nature of whether promoters are obligated to support their races, is a street circuit safe enough for bikes? It goes on and on, and we talk about it.Afterwards, a review of all 5 factories heading into the 2026 MotoGP season starting this weekend in Buriram, Thailand. Yamaha's awful winter of discontent and dealing with the potential loss of its franchise player. Honda's silent improvement and confidence in challenging for wins. KTM's more stable future, but might be dealing with life after Pedro Acosta. Aprilia, and more aero than god, and can they challenge Ducati, who have made so many power moves, Pecco Bagnaia is surplus to requirements?  All that and more in Season Preview Season, Part 2!

It's Season Preview Season for 2026! And this week it's IndyCar's turn to go under the microscope as Dre, RJ and Cam breakdown all you need to know heading into the opening race on March 1st in St Petersberg.The team breakdown all the news of series changes, including Honda and Chevrolet now becoming charter owners within IndyCar and where they could place a potential factory entry into the series for 2027 and beyond. There's also sad news regarding the seeming end of the Prema Racing team. Then we go team-by-team and analyse their chances. Romain Grosjean is back with NXT Champion Dennis Hauger at Dale Coyne. What can Mick Schumacher do with Rahal Letterman Lanigan, tackling ovals in a way his Dad refused? What about Will Power, now at Andretti. Can Marcus Ericsson and Nolan Siegel survive their high profile seats? Is Christian Rasmussen the next breakout star? And can anyone stop Alex Palou?It's a 2 hour Motorsport101 special, lock in! 

Sorry this one took a little longer one to get out, as you're about to hear, it's a busy week for your man Dre, trust him on this one.This is an extended episode of Motorsport101, given the circumstances of timings, we decided to merge a massive Silly Season explosion of stories in MotoGP, IndyCar's controversial latest addition to the calendar and the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, into one episode! MotoGP had Fabio Quartararo heavily hinted at moving to Honda, Jorge Martin going the other way to Yamaha, and Pedro Acosta replacing Pecco Bagnaia at Ducati. None of them official, but backed by Uri Puigdemont, which might as well make it kosher. We break down all the action in the first act of the show.The second chapter has IndyCar add an 18th race to the schedule as it twerks for President Trump and races around the Capitol Building in Washington DC. Wonder if it'll be in the shape of the boot. And finally, Porsche took glory at the Rolex 24 with the #7 car going back-to-back, and lead driver Felipe Nasr holding off Action Express's Jack Aitken to win by just 1.5 seconds, with the Brazilian driver taking his three-peat. A full review on top of all the news on a loaded M101! 

It's that time again! For the last few years, we've covered the IMSA Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and this year is no exception! Along with Dre, is RJ O'Connell covering IMSA this season for Racer.com and DailySportsCar.com, and Cameron Buckley, who's sportscar knowledge is the reason he still hasn't paid rent yet!All four of the classes are covered, including former Williams F1 driver Logan Sargeant making his debut via the LMP2 category and Era Motorsport, a fleet of IndyCar talent in the GTD categories including Scott McLaughlin, Kyle Kirkwood and James Hinchcliffe, and a car-by-car breakdown of everything in GTP, with 11 cars competing for likely outright victory.Can a heavily update BMW be a more driveable car now they're away from Rahal control? Is Porsche, now solely focusing on IMSA when it comes to Sportscars, still have the operational excellence coming off the win last season. What about Acura, now with Alex Palou back for another run? And what will a heavily revived Cadillac bring to the table aiming to solve its top speed woes?All that and more on another Motorsport101!

Forgive us for taking a little longer this year, both Dre and Cameron have been sick in recent weeks, but here is our bit first special of the year, looking back on the best, worst and everything inbetween in the 2025 M101 Awards, the 10th time we've done it!We've got the best overtake as Kamui Kobayashi makes a brilliant appearance against the best of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, who was the best series in Motorsport between IMSA, WEC, F1 and IndyCar? Who takes Rookie of the Year between Connor Zilisch and Isack Hadjar? And who made the biggest gains between Williams, Sauber and MotoGP's Alex Marquez!And of course the hotly contest big trio of awards, who takes the infamous Golden Cock betwen NASCAR, the FIA and Papaya Rules, as well as Max Verstappen going head to head with Alex Palou yet again for Driver of the Year... can the Spaniard finally take it?

And in our final Podcast before Christmas, Dre, RJ and Cam sit down for a nearly 3 hour long roundtable on the 2025 Formula 1 Season. The gang go team-by-team to breakdown their strengths, weaknesses, and what to expect heading into a radical 2026 regulation change. From Alpine and a miserable surrender half way through the season, to Kick Sauber's great comeback under the helm of Jonathan Wheatley and HULKENPODIUM. Aston Martin are setting up for their big crescendo under Adrian Newey, Racing Bulls had to deal with their bigger brothers mess, while Williams turned another huge corner to crack the Top 5.  At the front, Ferrari shat the bed, Mercedes still don't know how they're so fast, Red Bull's end of an era, and how McLaren dominated the season but still nearly ended up embarassed. All that and so much more inbetween in a Mega, Double length Motorsport101! Have a wonderful Christmas and we'll see you back here for the M101 Awards!

Return of the Marc, watch my flow, you know that I'll be back (Here I go...) Welcome to a bumper edition of the M101 Podcast as Dre, RJ and Cam review the 2025 MotoGP Season, with all the factories and their status spoken about as we enter a critical off-season! For Yamaha, is the switch to the V4 from their in-line history going to be enough for them to persuade Fabio Quartararto to sacrifice another two years of his prime to figure out. Is Honda going to sign a big hitter and if, which of their veterans are they going to release for them? And are they finally heading in the right direction? Is KTM about to be bought out from a new force from China, and if so, will that be enough to convince Pedro Acosta to stick around? Has Aprilia's progressed been masked by an injured Marquez? And what does Ducati do next after a messy season on and off the track?  All that and more across 2 hours on Motorsport101!

The record shows, he took the blows, and Lando did it his way. He is your 2025 Formula 1 World Champion, doing just enough to survive the final assault from Max Verstappen, who did everything he could to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Dre Harrison and RJ O'Connell reflect on what was actually a rather milquetoast decider, where everything the formbook suggested, just happened. McLaren played it super safe, Red Bull gambled and won one last time, George Russell and Charles Leclerc couldn't quite play spoiler. But we talk deeply about Lando Norris and the unique character that's made him a World Champion, Max Verstappen still pulling off the nearly unthinkable to end up just 2 points off the table after a 104 point deficit from Zandvoort, and Oscar Piastri's key role as the season's main antagonist.  We also talk about Fernando Alonso sneaking into the Top 6 in his final race of the year, Yuki Tsunoda actually taking a weaving penalty, and Helmut Marko being ejected from Red Bull Racing for getting a bit too keen to sign an Irish F2 ace...

No really McLaren, just wrap this shit up already. Honestly... ...Dre, Cam and RJ are back to review the penultimate race on the F1 2025 calendar at the Lusail International Circuit as Max Verstappen laid down one more victory to bring his Championship deficit to 12, and questions asked in the McLaren strategy department yet again. With the race a mandated two-stopper and 25 lap stint maximums were in effect, McLaren stayed out for "flexibility" sake and wanting to play fair, and it opened the door for Max Verstappen to punish them. Again. Cam blows his rag about putting the fries in the bag and wrapping this up, while Dre says that McLaren simply doesn't trust their riders. Is that the case, or is this just classic incompetence? There's also a hearty chat about the nasty online abuse suffered by Kimi Antonelli, Ferrari's new nadir after another hellaciously bad weekend, Carlos Sainz on the podium again for Williams and Red Bull's new driver lineup after Yuki Tsunoda says goodbye for Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad heads up from F2, to Racing Bulls.

Remember folks, what Verstappens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.  Dre, Cam and RJ are back to review yet another mad twist in the Championship race. Max Verstappen overcome a wet qualifying session and a spooked Norris off the line to take a dominant win in Nevada, but with the added bonus of both McLaren's being disqualified after the race for excessive skid block wear. It turns out lifting and coasting and a really low ride height has been harming McLaren for some time. Are they at their limit, and can Norris wrap up the title this weekend in Qatar? The trio also talk about the big breaking news story - Adrian Newey is taking over Aston Martin as their Team Principal for the first time in his 30+ year career, with current team boss Andy Cowell moving into the engine department as Chief Strategic Officer. Can a 67-year old Newey steer Aston Martin to glory? Or is this a waste of the great man's holistic talents? There's also more on Mercedes double podium, Ferrari's malaise, whether Vegas is starting to fall flat and the maths heading into a Qatar GP where a 25-lap limit will be put on Pirelli's tires. 

One last ride to close out the 2025 MotoGP Season as Marco Bezzecchi takes to the front and dominates the final round of the Championship in Valencia, and seal third overall in the standings. With it he also seals Aprilia's best ever season in MotoGP, with 4 wins across the brand, the first to win two in a row, and their first 1-2 finish since Catalunya 2023. Is the most serious warning shot yet that Aprilia are coming for Ducati's crown? There's also Fabio Di Giannantonio doing just enough to keep Ducati's 88-race podium GP streak alive, and one more horrible Pecco Bagnaia weekend for the road, including a fuel tank that wasn't filled during qualifying and then being absolutely blasted by Johann Zarco on the opening lap. Welp. We also talk Diogo Moreira winning the Moto2 World Championship in a surprisingly sombre decider, the latest to come out of the Valencia test, Franco Morbidelli's embarassing crash that led to breaking a bone in his hand, and Joan Mir's kamikaze Sprint crash with his own teammate that pisses off one Cameron Buckley...

And to complete the pre-race festivities, it's Miguel Oliveira, and a boat. It was a weird MotoGP weekend in Portugal in the sport's first ever 21st round. We had one of the greatest Sprints ever with Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez in combat for the win in what was a classic... followed by a completely boring GP where Marco Bezzecchi tinkered with the bike overnight and then dominated the opposition. As you do. Dre and Cam throw out their usual script for the episode and decide to just wing in. And in doing so, talk about that great sprint, the state of Acosta's current form, whether Aprilia can keep up this challenge, and more.  There's also a discussion about Miguel Oliveira leaving MotoGP for World Superbikes and that pre-race celebration before the off, and an update on Jose Antonio Rueda and Noah Dettwiler with both riders now at home to continue their recoveries. 

Oh boy. Lando Norris is on a rampage. Six races ago, it looked like it was Piastri's to lose. Now there's a bigger chance that Lando Norris wraps the Championship up earlier.  How did we get here? A perfect 33-point double victory weekend for Norris, who dominated Brazil, leading every single meaningful session in the process, with Piastri spinning in to the outside wall during the Sprint, and then limping home 5th in the Grand Prix after a 10-second penalty for causing a controversial collision with Kimi Antonelli. Dre, Cam and RJ break it down on a special Monday recording edition of the Podcast! We also talk about Antonelli's breakthrough weekend, as well as the spicy comments made by Ferrari chairman John Elkann, who claimed his drivers needed to focus more and talk less in the fight for second in the Championship. We discuss why that's nonsense. Also, Ollie Bearman finishing the season red-hot in P6, and the great 9 car tailback at the end of the race!

It's been 11 years of Motorsport101 in your listening world, and to celebrate the occasion in a free week of F1 and MotoGP, Dre Harrison and RJ O'Connell sit down to rewatch a iconic race of the turbo-hybrid era - F1's 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix from Sepang International Circuit. It was iconic for many reasons. Sebastian Vettel won for Ferrari in just his second ever start in red, after spending almost his entire career to date in the Red Bull umbrella, and he single-handedly injected some hope into the sport again after a brtually dominant start to the V6 era in 2014 - Where Mercedes won 16 out of 19 races, with Lewis Hamilton winning six out of the final seven to take his second World Title. But after a dreadful 2014 for Ferrari, Seb was the shot in the arm that Maranello, and maybe the whole sport needed. Dre and RJ talk about how Seb might now be underrated by modern-day metrics, how dominant the Ferrari was that day in terms of tire wear, just how surprisingly racy Sepang and the cars of 2015 were back then, and a whole lot more as they rewatch Sepang 2015 in full, and you can follow along too via the F1 TV access, listen in to hear how we did it!

Wish this was a brighter and perkier episode of Motorsport101, but sometimes we get no choice in the matter. This episode is dominated by the horrific accident between Noah Dettwiler and Jose Antonio Rueda during the Moto3 sighting lap last week. Dettwiler's bike had a technical problem and was slow on the outside of the track, Rueda didn't know that and ploughed into the back of him at near full racing speed.  Thankfully, since the time of recording this on Wednesday, Rueda's injuries are not life-threatening with a concussion and broken hand, with Noah now out of intensive care after suffering an open fracture to the leg, multiple cardiac arrests and a broken neck.  Dre, Cam and RJ talk about the nature of Moto3's diminishing coverage and why dropping Sunday warm-ups may have indirectly contributed to the accident, what it could potentially take for a race to be cancelled and the nature of a horrible year in bike racing for injuries.  There's also a brief review of the Malaysian GP itself as Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia split victories, with the latter suffering a rear puncture of all things, Joan Mir getting back on the podium for Honda, and more. And of course, our continued best wishes to Noah and Jose. 

What a time for Lando Norris to break out arguably his greatest weekend in his F1 career. Not once across the three days, even giving up a practice session for Pato O'Ward deterred Norris from dominating the weekend, taking pole by four tenths of a second, before leading every single lap enroute to a 30-second victory, the biggest win of the 2025 season so far. Across the garage though, Oscar Piastri could only manage fifth in another struggling weekend for the Australian, and with it, he loses his Championship lead for the first time in 17 races. It's a four-race shootout for the crown, with Verstappen still just about in contention, 36 points back. Who takes the title? Dre, Cam and RJ also breakdown a manic start and climax to the race involving grass shortcuts, debated stewarding calls and a VSC with 2 laps to go that ended two high tension fights for the podium. More on Carlos Sainz' disasterclass, a career-high P4 for Ollie Bearman for Haas, and yet another questionable moment for the rulebook as Verstappen and Hamilton clash on track again.