Quick question before we continue:

Are you now, are were you at any point in the last year, a MotoGP-rider? If so, you probably shouldn’t be listening to this. In fact, I think we can all agree that you should probably just turn off this device and come back next week. Don’t worry, there’s fun Patreon-episodes that you can listen to. I’d offer them for free, but you’re riding bikes around the world while I’m writing podcast descriptions, so I know you can miss it. Go listen now, you’ll have fun! See you next week!

…are they gone? Good, then we can begin with our great Rider Review! Yes, Mat and Peter are going to discuss all the riders and see where they’re at at this point. And yes, it’s going to be best for all of us if we do this without the riders themselves, because we’re scary! We’re ruthless! We really respect what they’re doing! But we’re going to say some very mean things, regardless! Because we love the sport! And exclamation marks!

This is getting silly, and I feel like you already know why this is going to be fun. So pour one out, and let’s have a little chat. Those riders will be back next week, you know?

What?
We’re maybe doing part II next week?
Oh, bugger, they’re not going to like that…

Want more? Visit our website or support us on Patreon. With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman's Dub Club for writing our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!

Remember the Cybermen, from Doctor Who? Scary races of machine-men and living computers who share all their experiences in a massive network. And that makes them really daunting, because any trick you might use in a fight against them only works once. Fool one once, and all of them learn and adapt. Your victories only help them slowly iterate towards perfection, all through data, data and more data.

Why am I waffling on about sci-fi when we just had a spectacular race? Because the Cybermen are in MotoGP, too, but here they're called Ducati. Each bike gathers more and more data, sorted and organized by algorithmic machine learning brains forever searching for speed. So what happens when that advantage disappears?

Well, it's not a great day to be on a Ducati if your name is not Marc Marquez. But what does that mean? For one, it's showing the capabilities of the riders in a whole new light. But it also shows that, under the right circumstances, the Ducati's may be less removed from the Aprilia- and KTM-machines than they care to admit.

And Marc Marquez? Well, five years after a horrific injury he's still the winner. There's a story there, and we've got Mat and Peter to tell it.

So strap in, because we're lifting off!

Want more? Visit our website or support us on Patreon. With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman's Dub Club for writing our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!

Welcome to Sachsenring, where riders face an education in teutonic terror in every turn. Eighteen riders on the grid, and ten make it to the final finish. It's crash central down here!

But what would motorsport be without a little danger? That's what Mat and Peter wonder as they take a look at Sunday's race. Are the Marquez brothers holding back in their fights on the tarmac, or is Alex just really good at calculating the risk-reward ratio when it comes to attacking his brother? And Marc himself walks a frightful tightrope, too, constantly leveraging an increasingly battered physique to demonstrate utter domination on the grid. If he falls, the damage could be immense - but as long as he wins, he's writing history.

Yes, we love danger - or maybe we just love the feeling of taking risks and getting away with it. That's a very different danger than the one faced by riders in the JuniorGP, who were witness to tragedy this week as a shameful lack of marshals and preparation resulted in the tragic and completely avoidable death of Borja Gomez. That's the wrong kind of danger, and this episode goes out to him.

Want more? Visit our website or support us on Patreon. With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman's Dub Club for writing our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!