Another complicated week in the F1 circus as the sport headed to North America and the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. And we even got a special guest, Ryan Erik King from Jalopnik is here for the next two episodes!

Max Verstappen made more history with his 13th win of 2022 making him just the third man ever with a 13 in a year. But he had to earn it after a botched 11-second final pitstop meant he had to chase down Charles Leclerc and a surprising Lewis Hamilton threat, in what turned out to be quite possibly F1’s race of the year. We break down a thriller of a US race.

And within that, we also had a frightening crash. A 185mph clash between Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso the future teammates as Stroll turning into Alonso, nearly put the Spainard into the catchfence. Amazingly, Alonso was able to keep the car going despite being airborne (Marcus Ericsson, anyone?), and finish in 7th… until a post-race controversy regarding the lack of a meatball flag led to a protest from Haas. Again, the boys take a look at whether Stroll was in the wrong and whether Alonso should have been punished.

We also talk about the diffcult to handle news out of Red Bull that their own Dietrich Mateschitz passed away at the age of 78. He was responsible for so much of the funding and investment that’s made modern day F1 what it is. But he’s also made some horrific comments about the world at large with his platforms. Should you mourn someone like that? M101 debates it.

All that and more on Sebastian Vettel’s epic final lap fight with Kevin Magnussen, on a loaded Motorsport101!

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An emotional rollercoaster of an episode of this one. In a down season for MotoGP in general, Philip Island has always been the go to ropund for us bikers to revel in the sport at its best.

This year was no exception. A MotoGP classic at the Island, with Alex Rins taking one last glorious win for Suzuki before their departure from the sport. Marc Marquez took his 100th MotoGP podium finish in just 153 starts (Jesus), and Francesco Bagnaia put one hand on the title?

Why? Because Fabio Quartararo might have had one crash too many. A fall at the Melbourne Loop, a race he was already running in 15th in, has now had him cough up a former 91 point deficit to Pecco, and is now 14 behind with just two to go. We break down the second major title collapse for Fabio Quartararo in just three years.

And unfortunately, we have to talk about the darker side of the sport too. Victor Steeman, over in the World Supersport 300, died in hospital last Tuesday after being hit in a multi-bike accident in Catalunya, their season finale. This makes him the 4th victim in lightweight class racing in the last 18 months. The boys beat their heads together in frustration and ask if the sport is doing enough with its 2023 rule changes on grid sizes and age limits.

Ride in Peace, Phil Read, Chrissy Rouse and the Steeman family.

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Jesus christ, what a week. You can consider Episode 403 of Motorsport 101 to be the “Red Bull” episode. For better and worse.

Max Verstappen is now the Double Formula 1 World Champion, and it was one more dominant drive from the Dutchman to win a 40-minute race by 27 seconds. But we got a whole-ass mess over just how many points the field was going to get that led to confusion, a World Champion celebration that was dampened, and the fact that almost everyone in F1 read the rule incorrectly. We break all of that mess down.

Then we get to the main sticking point of the race – A horrible near miss where we had a recovery truck live on track. Race control didn’t compensate for Pierre Gasly being so far behind the back after starting from pitlane and taking an extra stop, a Red Flag came out far too late, and we had a barely visible tractor and marshal on a live track was F1 cars passed just metres away from a potentially fatal accident. The track promoters and the FIA have a lot to answer for, and we get into the reasons why.

We also talk about the 24 hours later “Versnacking” scandal as it turns out Red Bull did indeed go over the cost cap, and it seems they might have had too much caviar in their lunch break. The question now remains as the jokes die down… how much should they be punished for doing so? We get into why that isn’t a simple answer. At all.

And finally, silly season. And Fabrizio Romano actually announced that Pierre Gasly was leaving AlphaTauri and heading to Alpine. Nice work on social media there I have to say. But with that move locked in, Nyck De Vries was also announced as heading to AlphaTauri for 2023 to take Gasly’s seat. We talk about the ramifications of those moves, Daniel Ricciardo essentially announcing a sabbatical from the sport, and is Mick Schumacher really on the brink of getting ejected from F1?

All of that and more on the next, Motorsport101!

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WARNING: About 35 minutes in is a discussion about assault and the Tom Booth-Amos video that did the rounds last week. You may find discussions on this upsetting. Look after yourselves. – Dre

The dentist will see you again. MotoGP has a new #RainGawd and his name is Miguel Oliviera. Not you, Danilo Petrucci! Anyway, we talk about his outstanding 2nd win of the year in Thailand, during a thunderstorm that very nearly got the race abandoned.

We also have an even more ridiculous situation. Let’s weigh this up: Fabio Quartararo only finishes 17th after getting jitters in the rain. Aleix Espargaro only finishes 11th after they hate the rear tyre and Aleix takes a long lap penalty for bumping into Brad Binder. And with Jack Miller 2nd, Franceso Bagnaia 3rd and Enea Bastianini in the Top 6, we now have all FIVE men within 40 points of the title with only 75 available. We assess all their weaknesses in this game of shithousery and ask once again, does anyone want to win this title?!

Also, that warned discussion is on the leaked video of former Moto3 rider Tom Booth-Amos getting assaulted by a crew chief who was still in the paddock at time of leak. It forces me and Cam to have a serious dialogue about safeguarding within the sport and whether it has any sort of finger on the pulse about how it looks to the outside world. it’s heavy stuff, but we think worth the time. Thanks for listening.

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Well what do you know? On the 11th second, of the 11th minute, of the 11th hour on Sunday night in Singapore, it was a win for Car Number 11.

Yes, the Max Verstappen win streak is over, But how we got there was spectacular, yet boring all at the same time. Verstappen had to start 8th due to abandoning his final lap due to a lack of fuel. In fact, both he and Lewis Hamilton, probably the two best drivers in the world looked completely mid, with both men overdoing it under braking and either going down the escape road, or tapping the wall. Weird.

At the front, Sergio Perez held off a furious charge from Charles Leclerc and the Minister of Defence nursed his tyres to a comfortable win. Or was it? We got controversy with Perez dropping too far back behind the Safety Car THREE times, and having to wait till literally Monday Morning Singapore time before we got a final result. Is that okay? We talk about it.

ALL of this was overshadowed by a huge rumour that came out of the media. According to The Race, Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin might have just gone over the cost cap, and now it’s lead to a huge discussion about what sort of punishment they should get if they truly have broken the rules, which we’ll find out for certain on Monday. The prospect isn’t unthinkable that Red Bull could get docked points for 2021. Should they though? Dre and RJ have an honest chat about it.

We also talk about some of the genuine shithousery of the race, such as both Alpine’s suffering power unit failures. Again. Or the fact that Aston Martin got both cars in the points. We also talk about the potential collapse of the W Series too, so it’s all a bit miserable all round.

Try to make the most of this one, and enjoy!

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You know you’ve made it when you have your own Wikipedia page, PURELY for your own achievements on the track.

Welcome to our 400th episode, a special look back at The Doctor, Valentino Rossi, the greatest Motorcycle rider of all-time and oone of the most recognisable athletes in the history of Motorsport.

The end of 2021 marked the end of a 26-year career in bike racing that included 432 races, 115 wins, 235 podium finishes, 65 pole positions and of course, 9 World Championships.

But there was so much more to Valentino Rossi than that. He essentially saved a fleeting MotoGP in terms of popularity twice in the 2000’s. He became a transcendent star who made yellow cool again. He drove Rallys, tested a Formula 1 car, and made the post-race celebration a huge part of Motorsports culture, way before the Shoey became likeable.

He was a lovable maverick but also a ruthless competitor. He had some of the greatest rivalries in Motorsport history. Max Biaggi, Jorge Lorenzo, Sete Gibernau, Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez all had to get past the #46 to establish their own legacies. Valentino Rossi was MotoGP, and he’ll continue to be long after he retires.

This 400th episode is a feature-length, 2 and a half hour retrospective, not only on Rossi’s career, but those rivalries, highlights from some of the greatest races in GP history, the brand that still sells over £25m in merchandise to this day, and what his legacy has done to MotoGP as a whole.

This special was originally recorded in 2021, but it never left the cutting room shelf until now. We openly admit, the audio isn’t perfect, but this was such a good time, we felt compelled to save it.

And finally, thank you to our listeners, fans, friends, our wonderful co-hosts RJ O’Connell, Cameron Buckley and Ryan Erik King, all our Patreon backers for supporting us on Episode 400. It’s been an 8-year journey and it still makes us all smile being able to do this. You’re the best audience in the world, and we’re so grateful to each and every one of you. Thank you.

Enjoy!

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