Episodes

  • 128: Liberty Media Completes MotoGP Buyout, Marc Marquez Dominates Mugello

    128: Liberty Media Completes MotoGP Buyout, Marc Marquez Dominates Mugello
    Jun 25 2025
    After a year of announcements, wait, anticipation and an investigation by the European Commission, Liberty Media were finally given the green light to complete their majority purchase of Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holders of MotoGP, for $4.2 billion. On this week's episode of Tank Slappers, Dre Harrison, Richard Asher and Uri Puigdemont break down the move and what they hope will be the key areas that Liberty focuses on in order to grow the sport, such as revenue sharing, marketing improvements, and getting people to care about the riders, like F1 has with "Drive to Survive".

    All the action from the past weekend's Italian Grand Prix is also reviewed, with Marc Marquez taking control early on and never looking back enroute to his fifth win of 2025, and his first at Mugello since 2014. With Alex Marquez second again and Pecco Bagnaia off the podium, is the title battle already over? There's also a discussion in regards to whether Alex Marquez is racing his brother differently to others, and the struggles that Bagnaia has faced in Ducati.

    And finally, Franco Morbidelli was in the spotlight for causing a nasty crash with Maverick Vinales that led to the Italian taking a Long Lap Penalty. But is the current system in place not harsh enough for ending another riders race?
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    53 mins
  • 127: MotoGP Legend Àlex Crivillé On Bagnaia/Marquez, Doohan And MotoGP's Future

    127: MotoGP Legend Àlex Crivillé On Bagnaia/Marquez, Doohan And MotoGP's Future
    Jun 23 2025
    Dre Harrison introduces another special interview for Tank Slappers, as Alberto Gomez was able to sit down with 1999 500cc World Champion, and MotoGP Hall of Famer, Alex Criville.

    Alex talks In-depth on the differences between his era of 2-stroke racing, compared to the 4-strokes and modern-day prototypes, what he admires about Marc Marquez and how his rivalry with Francesco Bagnaia is comparable to Alex’s own with Mick Doohan.

    There’s also a chat about what the sport needs to do to improve, and who Alex himself admired as a young racer growing up. If you enjoyed the interview, please subscribe, and check back next week for our review of the Italian Grand Prix. Until then, thanks for listening.
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    19 mins
  • 126: Marc Marquez's "Perfect" Aragon, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu Heads To MotoGP

    126: Marc Marquez's "Perfect" Aragon, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu Heads To MotoGP
    Jun 10 2025
    It was a truly perfect weekend in Aragon for Championship leader, Marc Marquez. Dre Harrison sits down with Richard Asher and Uri Puigdemont to review a stunning weekend from the Spaniard, with a Grand Chelem victory, and the first rider to lead in every single session across the weekend since... Marc himself did it in Germany back in 2015.

    It was a close fight from behind as Alex Marquez limited the Championship damage with another pair of second place finishes, with Francesco Bagnaia making a big change in his brake discs that earned him a podium finish, and according to the man himself, some regained confidence after just four points in his previous five races. Is it the first sign of a turnaround by the former Champion.

    There's also some focus on today's news that two-time World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatlıoğlu will be heading to MotoGP in 2026 with Prima Pramac Racing. The trio discuss why this is a fun but "risky" move by the Turkish rider and what challenges may lie ahead.

    And finally a wrap-up of the rest of the weekend's action, including Pedro Acosta's dispondent feelings despite a fourth place finish, what could have been for Marco Bezzecchi's Aprilia after a horrible Qualifying session, and the unpredictable future of KTM with rumours Herve Poncheral at Tech3 might be prepared to sell his team.
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    49 mins
  • 125: Lucio Cecchinello on IRTA Presidency, Liberty Media Buying MotoGP And Its Future

    125: Lucio Cecchinello on IRTA Presidency, Liberty Media Buying MotoGP And Its Future
    Jun 5 2025
    Dre Harrison introduces a special episode of Tank Slappers, featuring a sit down interview with former rider, LCR Team Principal and new President of the IRTA, Lucio Cecchinello.

    In a wide-ranging interview, Lucio talks about what he misses most about being a rider, his new role as IRTA President, and what it was like juggling being both a rider and a team boss at the same time. There's also a chat about his partnership with Honda, and having the last two wins the manufacturer has earned in MotoGP.

    There's also a deep dive into what he thinks of Liberty Media, whose takeover of MotoGP is imminent, what the sport can learn from Formula 1 in terms of fandom, entertaining and sporting merit, and how he thinks the 2027 regulations could shake up the sport, and what the other manufacturers can learn from Ducati's dominance.
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    19 mins
  • 124: Marco Bezzecchi Wins In Britain, Heartbreak for Quartararo, Drama for Aprilia and KTM

    124: Marco Bezzecchi Wins In Britain, Heartbreak for Quartararo, Drama for Aprilia and KTM
    May 28 2025
    Dre Harrison is joined again by Richard Asher and Uri Puigdemont to review what was an incredibly dramatic Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone.

    It was a shocking win for Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia winning their first race of 2025, and it couldn't have come at a better time with the unstable future of World Champion Jorge Martin still looming over the horizon. But will that win and Aprilia CEO Massimo Rivera's plea for Martin to stay hold up?

    There's also a discussion on the heartbreaking rear ride-height device failure that almost certainly cost Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo his first victory in nearly three years. The trio react to the emotional outpouring from the French rider and the solace Yamaha can take from the performance.

    Also on the podcast, Ducati's surprise struggles in Britain, Pedro Acosta's possible ultimatum to the bosses at KTM, Johann Zarco scoring another podium for Honda, and what the British GP can do to attract more fans after another disappointing attendance of under 100,000 for the weekend.
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    56 mins
  • 123: Jorge Martin Intends To Leave Aprilia, Zarco Wins Chaotic French GP

    123: Jorge Martin Intends To Leave Aprilia, Zarco Wins Chaotic French GP
    May 12 2025
    Dre Harrison, Richard Asher and Oriol Puigdemont host an emergency edition of Tank Slappers off the back of one of the biggest bombshell MotoGP stories of 2025 so far.

    The majority of the show is taken up with the breaking news that Jorge Martin met with Aprilia discreetly during the French GP weekend at Le Mans and told the team that he intends to leave at the end of the season via a performance clause that was in his contract that gave him an option to leave after six races if Martin wasn't placed high enough in the Championship.

    Oriol breaks down how this story came about, the logic behind Martin activating the clause in his contract, where Martin may intend to move to as a result if he fully commits to leaving, and what this means for Aprilia going forward if their news talismanic rider wants to leave despite just one GP weekend with the team so far.

    There's also a short review of the French GP itself, as Johann Zarco become the first premier class home winner of the race since 1954, as well as why it was a huge weekend for Marc Marquez in the Championship fight, and Pecco Bagnaia's latest explanations for his struggles after leaving the weekend without a single point.
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    37 mins
  • 122: Alex Marquez Wins A Home Spanish GP As Brother Marc Crashes Again

    122: Alex Marquez Wins A Home Spanish GP As Brother Marc Crashes Again
    Apr 30 2025
    Alex Marquez said to the media at the start of the season that he might win a MotoGP race, 'If his brother let him." And in his 93rd attempt, at his home Grand Prix, the younger Marquez brother finally has his first GP victory.

    Dre Harrison is joined by Autosport MotoGP reporter Richard Asher, and Motorsport.com MotoGP writer Uri Puigdemont to review an incredibly dramatic Spanish GP weekend with 100,000 in attendance in Jerez.

    If you didn't know any better, you may have thought Alex Marquez took a page out of his older brother's book to win across the weekend. Two crashes on Friday, then a lap record in practise, and then taking advantage of Marc crashing early on, making one pass for the lead, and then taking off. But is the Spaniard a genuine title contender now he's leading the standings again by just a single point.

    What about the factory Ducati camp? Pecco Bagnaia was very vocal about struggling to extract the full speed out of his GP25, esepcially with the Sprint tank in on Saturday's. And as for Marc Marquez, is he struggling to figure out where the limit is on his bike after another Sunday crash?

    Fabio Quartararo had an incredible weekend, with his first pole position for Yamaha in nearly three years, and second place in the GP, their first podium in a year and a half. Is there hope for the factory, and how is their V4 coming along?

    And with back-to-back strong races from Maverick Vinales, is Pedro Acosta under more pressure to leave KTM? All that and more on a busy episode of Tank Slappers!
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    46 mins
  • 121: Marquez Supreme in Qatar As Martin Horror Crash Collapses His Lung

    121: Marquez Supreme in Qatar As Martin Horror Crash Collapses His Lung
    Apr 15 2025
    Dre Harrison is back to host another episode of Tank Slappers after a newsworthy Grand Prix of Qatar, joined by Autosport and Motorsport.com writers Uri Puigdemont and Richard Asher.

    Once again it was Marc Marquez who dominated from the front to take his third double victory of the season in the Sprint and the Grand Prix. The trio talk about Marquez’s brilliance despite the early clash with his brother Alex, and the worry for teammate Francesco Bagnaia, who was expected to win on a track he’s won at multiple times before.

    There’s also the latest news on the condition of World Champion Jorge Martin, who suffered a horrendous crash after being struck by Fabio DiGiannantonio, and is set to miss three months of racing after having his lung collapse and breaking 11 of his ribs.

    Maverick Vinales shocked everyone in the sport by giving Marquez a run for his money by finishing second on the road, only to drop to 14th after the race finished due to a breach of the tyre pressure regulations. Dre and Richard discuss whether the rule needs changing after Vinales spent multiple laps leading to bring his tyre pressures down.

    There’s also the polarising performances coming from the Japanese manufactures, as Honda’s Johann Zarco continues to impress with a fourth-placed finish, while Fabio Quartararo falls down the order after claiming his first front-row start in nearly three years.
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    51 mins