Oxley Bom MotoGP podcast

Sometimes, the future is uncertain and nobody can predict what will happen next. Not only is the current tournament ramping up towards an unpredictable finale (and a potential race at Qatar, if the world hasn't ended by that point) but the very shape of the race weekend itself is about to change. And nobody is quite sure what effects that will have. 

That's why this week, Mat and Peter are taking a look at the new schedules. One thing is for sure: this is going to have lots of consequenses, some good, some bad and some just p...

Sometimes a weekend just can't help but go your way. Take Marc Marquez, maybe the luckiest man on the grid right now. It seems this tournament really is going down to the wire, and playing a giant part in that is just how good these Aprilia bikes are right now. Playing four-in-a-row with a race's top positions is the kind of game we're used to seeing from Ducati, but it seems that The Other Italian Manufacturer is beating those Bologna Boys at their own game.

And then there is the hero of the hour, Raul Fernandez, with...

Sometimes, a race summary sounds surprisingly like a rather laborous romantic rendez-vous: there was quite a lot of tension, not a lot of excitement and the outcome involved lots of rubber while each party involved is trying to finish as fast as humanly possible. 

It's the latest chapter in a championship that refuses to appoint a clear winner and is all the better for it. Say what you want, this year is one for the books. 

Speaking of those rubbers, what exactly was going on with the tires this weekend? Was there really a perfect op...

With a small break in the racing this week, you'd think we’re taking it easy. But unsurprisingly for a sport in which speed is everything, things can move quite quickly and your hosts Mat and Peter have some big things to discuss this week.

So let's turn back the clock to last week, when Sunday's race was immediately followed by Monday's tests. And this is a big one, because there won't be much time until Valencia and then the pre-season testing in December. A new bike is always exciting, but this year's batch is extra special be...

Smile, you son of a bitch!*

When most people picture the landlocked mountains of Austria, the last thing they think of is shark attacks. So imagine our surprise when we saw the Shark gobble up the competition this week at Red Bull Ring, even devouring Jorge Martin whole.

The Shark in question is, of course, Pedro Acosta driving that giant hammerhead of a KTM. He dominated the training on Friday, screwed it up dramatically on Saturday during the sprint and then came back swinging today, earning KTM its first victory on a...

Sometimes, fights fight over the silliest things. As their highly-paid producer, I can tell you that Mat and Peter are no different. This weekend, the subject of Mizano's Curvone came up. You know, that famous 11th turn at San Marino. Except that it might not be a turn, but a kink. Or maybe it isn't. I'm not going to give a definitive answer here - I'm trying to preserve a very delicate peace! 

Luckily, there's lots of other things that happened during the race that we can talk about, because there was a lot g...

Sadly, we've lost Philip Island. So now what’s going to take us back to Australia? 

Well, welcome to the Adelaide Street Circuit. It’s 4,13 km (2,57 miles) long, has 15 turns and might run straight through some very special parkland. 

It’s also, thanks to reasons not completely unrelated to the above, rather controversial. 

Having seen the virtual rendition, Mat and Peter are wary. Don’t get us wrong, it seems like a lovely idea to make a street track. But should it really be in the middle of a park? Regardless, it’s happening nex...

Sometimes, small mistakes make for big excitement. Case in point: Marc Marquez, neglecting to disengage the rear holeshot device, sparks flying as the battle for first becomes an open question. See, there's something interesting about this track and the current set-up of MotoGP and it's got a lot to do with the tires. 

You might not see it on camera* but this track eats rubber for breakfast. Want to win? Then get in first, close it up and don't try to get away too far because you'll still have miles to go. Want to get from the b...

You want to ride a MotoGP-bike? Yeah, good luck with that: everyone knows these are machines made for murder, beasts of technology that only those gifted with near-superhuman reflexes can manage. These days, those rides have about as much in common with your average road bike as a space shuttle has in common with a paper airplane. What can I say; you can't walk the cutting edge if you don't expect to bleed a little. 

Except that once upon a time, there was a bike that was different. Fast as lightning but turned on a dime. Easily b...

No race? Nope! It's the second summer mini-break, giving everyone some time to catch their breaths. It also raises the question what a million dollar rider does to relax. Drinks at a tropical beach, anyone? That'd be our plan, surely. Not sure what cocktails would be involved, but feel free to let us know your best guess for your favourite rider. 

The last time we had a break like this was last month, and we spend it talking about the characteristics of the top five riders. This week we're doing something similar, but looking at the other s...

Some things are just meant to be together. You know: peanut butter and chocolate. Salt and pepper. Silverstone and Aprilia. Yes, Assen and Phillip Island are nice. But bring these bikes to Silverstone, and their aero really starts making the difference. 

The result? A clear domination, where in one historic weekend the Italian manufacturer managed to lock down the grid's front row, take all three top places during the sprint and then doing the same during the main race in a pretty historic victory. The result? Three of Aprilia's four bikes are holding steady in the top t...

IMPORTANT: This episode uses a lot of photo’s, which you will probably want to look at. To do that, please watch this episode on our Patreon or YouTube. Enjoy!

Trip report! Being world famous (and very handsome!) MotoGP-journalist, you wouldn’t believe the places that Mat and Peter have been. But even for them, there’s some places you just don’t get to go to. Places like the country of Sweden, for example. 

Yet that’s exactly where we went, just north of Stockholm...

So, imagine this. It’s July. You’ve got nothing to do. The day’s a real scorcher, and all you want to do is just sit down in the shade, have a cool drink and, who knows, listen to a ninety minutes long podcast where two geezers discuss the potential benefits of strapping a nuclear reactor to a motorbike and other hypotheticals. 

Well, whether you’re having a sunny holiday or are just getting your tan on in the mediterranean bliss of, eh, London…we’ve got just the thing for you! 

...

Jorge Marttin. Ai Ogura. Marc Marquez. Marco Bezzecchi. Fabio Di Giannantonio. 

Five names, and only a total of 24 points separating them. Never before in the history of MotoGP has a championship seen this many contenders for the top spot at the halfway point, let alone have them be so incredibly close.

No, seriously: we made Mat check the history books, so you can quote us on that! 

It's a fearsome line-up of killers, each of a different ilk and shouldering different struggles. 

It is also the perfect moment for Mat and Pet...

Sometimes, racing motorbikes is kind of like dating: there’s a hundred little things that seem super important to the performance, but in the end everybody just wants you to be interesting. And being interesting is kind of a challenge when we’re at the Sachsenring, because this track has one good line and three places to overtake. Or, to quote the great poet Luca Marini: it’s Monaco for bikes. 

But don’t be fooled, because this year we have riders who definitely spiced things up. Ai Ogura continues to deliver, veteran Cal Crutchlow’s confidently sharing coo...

It’s the fourth of July, and that means we have something to celebrate! Yes, on this very day, a very long time ago, a bunch of dudes thought up something that would grow into a world-changing institution whose age has reached the triple digits.

So, congratulations Ducati! 

Let’s be honest: your hosts are giant history nerds, and Peter has a very long history with this particular manufacturer. In fact, some might even say that the story of Ducati overlaps with his origin story! 

So join us today as we’re telling the stor...

Today's race was brought to you by the letter 'A'. That's 'A', like in 'Assen', 'Aprilia', 'Ai' and, of course: "Aaaaaaaaaargh, why is there so much sharp gravel everywhere?"

That gravel is especially nasty, as Peter assures us that the stones here are particularly unfriendly. And that's not even getting into those killer curbs, and the sharp corners that become extra tricky in the sweltering heat. 

Today we got to see the oldest track in MotoGP deliver all those nasty surprises and ultra speedy passages. It's the kind of track that is perfectly suited to A...

Sometimes we get by with a little help from our friends. Case in point: Marc Marquez, taking first place with the help of Martin and Bezzecchi. The latter's help was especially unconventional, as the Bez managed to get himself suspended for a race when he decided to slap a race official. 

And no matter what you say, you just can't go around slapping stewards or mauling marshals. It's a slip-up from the world's fastest hippy - or, to quote Mat: "The Red Mist can be a terrible thing!"

And if you're going to miss out o...

 Ah, the holeshot device. If you've heard Mat and Peter talk about it before, you'd fear to think what would happen if they ever met the poor devil who invented it...

...well, his name is Robin Tuluie and he's joining us this week! 

To say Tuluie is an important figure in motor sports is slightly underselling the man. Yes, he invented both the ride height device in MotoGP and introduced mass dampeners to F1, but that's really just fooling around for this modern day Renaissance Man and astrophysicist who currently runs PhysicsX, using machine learning to...

Last year was the first time we went to Balaton, and the result wasn't great. This year? Hate the track, love the riders. And I say 'riders', plural, because it takes two to tango. 

And people, did we get one hell of a dance between Acosta and Marquez today. 

Yes, the king is back and schooling everyone with 1,5 functional arms. Keen readers might notice that this is slightly less than the average of 2, but leave it to Marquez to make the best of it and show everyone how it's done. And if that doesn't make yo...

It's a party at Aprilia and occasion for some very cross glares over at Ducati this Sunday at Mugello. Good race? You bet! So let's go over to Italy, and see what caught the eye of our hosts Mat and...

...wait, I'm getting word that Peter is still on a secret mission somewhere? Oh dear. Have we got anyone else on the ground, then? 

Nope, nobody but Mat and his incredible social skills! So there he goes, conjuring up a co-host out of thin air for this weekend! Give it up for Cory West, American r...

You've heard it here first, everyone! 

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO WAR RIGHT NOW.

'What war?', you might ask? Well, I couldn't possibly tell you! Maybe the Duke of Luxembourg decided to invade Thailand. Maybe it's the manufacturers versus Liberty. Maybe cats and dogs are finally getting serious about it. All just as likely, right?

Okay, maybe if there was a war it would be about the second topic. And maybe that hypothetical scrap would be about a new rule that limits riders to a single bike all weekend, giving a whole new d...

Well, that wasn't what we expected, nor what we wanted. Bloody disaster! 

In case you're reading this from some far-off future where people (hopefully) don't remember this race very well anymore, know that we had a pretty mess on our hands with bad, avoidable crashes galore. You could call it a lottery, you could call it a farce...but you can't call it racing. 

Understandably, Mat and Peter have some thoughts on the matter. What type of thoughts? Well, let's just say that as a producer I always love it when I get to flag an...

Oh dear, what a weekend! For want of a screw, the race was lost. Or, maybe I should say: for want of a proper screw. Yes, I'm talking about Marc Marquez, him having a screw loose leading to a rather painful absence for the man who'd absolutely shattered the lap record at Les Mans on Saturday. 

And it's bad news for Ducati, too, as Alex took a tumble within the first rounds today and left the door wide open for Aprilia to, once again, establish dominance. It looks like the greatest contest this year will be an i...

Come on, it's time to check out the best race ever. 

You might have noticed, but a lot has been changing in MotoGP recently. New owners, new rules, new tracks and the end of the 1000cc-era. It feels weird, doesn't it? Most humans, when unsure about the future, start ruminating on the past in search of answers. After all, it's often only when seeing where we came from that we can actually see how far we've come and how much things changed. But turn back the clock by, say, twenty years. What do we find? Well, it's t...

VIDEO ALERT! We've got Mat and Peter live from Jerez, with their mugs on camera! I'd click this, if I was you! 

Normally after a race, you just pack up and go. If you hurry up, you've got just enough time to celebrate your victory or mourn your losses and still catch your plane.

But if you did that this week you'd feel pretty silly at the airport, because we've got testing to do! 

And it's a little bit of a special occasion, too, as we draw inevitably closer towards the end of th...

VIDEO ALERT! We've got Mat and Peter taking a stroll across Jerez, and that's the episode version I'd most recommend!

There's this thing called the law of opposites. You know: for every Ying, there's a Yang. For every good thing, a bad thing. For every exciting sprint, one boring race. 

Oh bloody hell, we weren't allowed to say that!

Well never mind anyway, because it won't stay boring if you look a little closer. And you know who's really good at that? That's right, your hosts Mat and Peter! 

...

 Here's MotoGP. Here's World Superbike. Quickly: what's the biggest difference?

Speed, of course! Or at least that's what the answer would have been at any point in history. But here we are, at the threshold of the biggest rule shake-up in the history of the sport, laying down new regulations on aerodynamics, ride height devices, fuel and engine capacity. All to slow down the machines to a level where squishy humans won't get turned into goo when their bike flips out on a track that was never build for this kind of velocity. 

That this mi...

It's tiny. It's kind of hard to reach. It gets used at the start of the race, and then it gets folded away. Oh, and for riders and engineers it's the last big tool to shave off precious time in the corners. 

That's right, this week Peter's coming in clutch with a deep dive into...the clutch! How does it work, what influence does it have and why are these devices so different in MotoGP, compared to the ones on your own bike? 

Mat wants to know, and Peter has got the know-how. Some of it...

When not writing descriptions for episodes of the Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast, I love to spend time on games. And I mean games in every format, from ancient boardgames to weird videogames and, of course, racing. It's not just about playing them, but also about appreciating the design behind them; the way every little aspect has been tweaked just so, in order to make it fun and meaningful. 

So trust me when I say: making a game flow right is so, so much harder than you'd think.

Why am I telling you this? Because I n...

During the week, he's an unassuming MotoGP-rider. But when the weekend comes around and Sunday's knocking, he changes into...Super Sunday Boy! This week, will our superhero have a mighty collision before parking his bike all the way at the front? 

Yes, he can! 

And speaking of the front, something we didn't find there was Ducati. Forget about that beautiful uninterrupted streak of victories last year - this season, they're being passed left and right in the same corner. So what is going on here? 

We've watched and understood it all, in a way...

It's the second race of the season, and MotoGP is back in Brazil. It's been absolute ages since we've last been to the Autodromo Internacional de Goiania, so how has it faired? Well, they say love starts with first impressions - and Goiana definitely delivered. She's short, she's wet (especially after the rain), she's wild...and she's got a sinkhole that's ready to mingle! To quote Mat: "At least it gives you an interesting memory."

(Cue the Liberty Media exec's kicking their TVs: "Four billion pounds...for this?!")

In other news: Aprilia continues to impress...

Last week, we asked our dear Patrons if they had any questions for us. And, well, you know the drill: lots of you responded, we picked our favourites and finally Mat and Peter do their best to answer them in an hour or so. Right?

I mean, how many questions in need of resolution could there possibly be?

Well, let's just say that if you normally pour yourself a glass for these episodes, then this time you might want to bring the bottle. Or just bring the whole damn cask, because we'll be here for...

It's all good times for Aprilia. Their hardware is proving top-notch at the track, and even after one race they've already got some spectacular results in the pocket. In fact, if the world ends tomorrow they'd technically be world champions! But what are the chances of that happening?

In completely unrelated news, are we still doing that Qatar GP or are we canceling it due to a chance of missiles?

And speaking of apocalyptic disasters, we should probably peak over at Ducati and see how they're doing. The numbers don't look great, but there is...

 Ah, take a whiff of that! You smell it? It’s that unique scent of jungle, petrol and excitement which can only mean one thing:

MotoGP is back, baby!

Now, you might wonder why we just described the above mentioned (and highly questionable) smell. But you have to understand that Mat is currently at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand while being sick as a dog. Seriously, some vicious flu has got him down and he’s purely holding on through the strength of willpower and lozenges. The poor lad has even had to give...

In 1776, Adam Smith famously speculates on the concept of a free market and coins the term 'capitalism'. Then, in 2026, the organizers of MotoGP suddenly announce that Philip Island is gone from the official roster of the tournament. Coincidence? We think not! 

Yes, it's the cruel, cold, capitalist culling of a great circuit and the hosts are not amused. In fact, Mat's literally sick of it and has come down with an awful flu. But just like a certain racing organization, we're a bunch of brutal bastards - so get that man in front of a mic, pronto! 

Here at Oxley Bom, everyone knows that the thing we're most famous for are our 'charming' personalities. Like, we can promise we don't physically bite - but that's about the limit of what we can guarentee. So you'll understand when I say it is a great honor to have an actual returning guest to our show! Who is this dauntless fellow? Why, it's the awesome Livio Suppo! 

For those not in the know (or those who haven't listened to our interview two years ago) we should probably tell you that Livio is an actual real-life legend in t...

It's hard being a motorsports journalist, you know? Always traveling the world, visiting exotic countries and having to tell people about all the cutting-edge machines you saw there. It's a horrible job, really, but someone has to do it. And this time, that arduous task fell to Peter. Sorry Peter, you're up!

So yes, we sent our most intrepid expert packing and told him not to come back until he's got some good stories for us.* And here he is, ready to give Mat the debrief on everything he saw at Sepang. Were our predictions last week...

Hey, want to score a special deal? How about a nice MotoGP-rider, pretty fast and only slightly used. No? Maybe prefer a rookie, instead? Someone promising but without proven records, so dirt cheap if you act fast. Better act fast before they're all gone...

Yes everyone, it's Auction Day at Oxley Bom and we are your auctioneers! In front of us: a collection of riders, contracts currently still unsigned. Who will ride into a new season, and who will step out of the race? That's what we're about to find out. It's mean and merciless - but...

We've talked about the riders. 

We've yapped about the manufacturers. 

And today? 

Today we get to the real meat and potatoes...the bikes! 

Never mind that  everybody's still getting ready to start testing in Sepang - we've already got plenty to discuss. We already know a lot about these bikes, so it's time we start looking at the hard questions. Questions like: Are they going to make the racing better? Will they be safer? Are they fun to watch? What's their zodiac? And who might have to get ready for a frost...