Show Notes
MotoGP 2026 is distilling into an ever-closer Marc Marquez vs Jorge Martin title showdown after the events of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend at Motegi.
But their battle for victory was heavily influenced by the bizarre scenario of riders switching to a back-up tyre specification that they'd all expected to be terrible - but that was actually fantastic! All of which left some of the grid's deeper thinkers admitting to feeling pretty daft.
Val Khorounzhiy, Simon Patterson and Eden Hannigan explain it all, give their thoughts on the direction of the title battle and hail great weekends for Enea Bastianini and Somkiat Chantra.
Want more of our MotoGP insight direct to your inbox? Sign up for our new free MotoGP newsletter The Lean Angle here: https://theracemedia.beehiiv.com/motogp-signup Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Race MotoGP Podcast
We now know all the details of MotoGP’s 2027 weekend format changes, and they’ve certainly divided opinion.
MotoGP’s Indonesian Grand Prix weekend ended with an Aprilia 1-2-3-4 but that probably could have been the formation in every session and race had things not gone crazy in multiple ways.
MotoGP's planning a big shake-up to its race weekend format in 2027 with a new way of forming sprint grids on the agenda. Does it actually need to? And if it does, what should it do? That's what Val Khorounzhiy, Jordan Moreland and Matt Beer debate in The Race MotoGP Podcast.
Pedro Acosta is FINALLY a MotoGP grand prix winner - though only after putting KTM through the agony of his sprint blunder first.
Marc Marquez leads the MotoGP riders’ standings for the first time in 2026 after his Misano double win coincided with a weekend of pain for Aprilia.