Simon Patterson

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Lives in a van and chases motorbikes around the world for fun and beer money. Freelance MotoGP journalist. Opinionated.

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Articles

Acosta switches to '2024 bike' as KTM woes continue

1 week ago | the-race.com | Simon Patterson

Pedro Acosta says he has gone back to more of a 2024-spec KTM MotoGP bike and immediately felt the benefits, in a move that comes as a damning indictment on the factory's 2025 developments. Acosta, like his fellow KTM riders, was hamstrung by ongoing vibration issues during the sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix, and both he and Tech3 rider Maverick Vinales tumbled out of the points to 11th and 10th respectively while trying to nurse their disintegrating soft rear tyres to the end.
'I can't be happy with myself' - The bid to rescue a MotoGP career

2 weeks ago | the-race.com | Simon Patterson

Former Moto2 championship runner-up Raul Fernandez has opened up about what he believes to be the root cause of his 2025 MotoGP problems, after yet another frustrating weekend at the Trackhouse Aprilia at the team’s home race in Texas.
The big question Aprilia needs Martin to answer

2 weeks ago | the-race.com | Simon Patterson

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin will finally return to action at this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, marking his first race for new team Aprilia - and offering a valuable opportunity for the Italian factory to find the answer to some very important questions that have so far gone unanswered.
Honda must do whatever it takes to get Acosta

2 weeks ago | the-race.com | Simon Patterson

Rumours continue to swirl around the MotoGP paddock that the racer hotly tipped as the sport’s next big star - Pedro Acosta - is looking at finding a way out of his KTM contract after 2025. And it’s a situation that could provide a golden opportunity for the next step in Honda’s rebuilding plan.
Razgatlioglu now linked to Honda MotoGP move

3 weeks ago | the-race.com | Simon Patterson

There is fresh speculation in the World Superbike paddock that reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu is close to a move to the MotoGP paddock - albeit through a slightly circuitous route involving him first joining Honda’s struggling superbike team for the 2026 season before making the jump to MotoGP when new regulations come into effect in 2027.
Martin finally gets a boost with latest injury recovery update

3 weeks ago | the-race.com | Simon Patterson

It’s looking increasingly likely that the number one plate will finally return to MotoGP action at next weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, after Jorge Martin got positive news from his doctors in his bid to return to action after missing out on the opening three rounds of the 2025 season. The reigning world champion first crashed during testing at Sepang in early February, breaking bones in his hand and foot that kept him out of the remainder of the pre-season.
Bagnaia can't take any false hope from his first shot at Marquez

3 weeks ago | the-race.com | Matt Beer |Simon Patterson

Was Pecco Bagnaia’s Austin MotoGP sprint the most encouraging performance of his anonymous 2025 season so far? Or just another comprehensive beating by a pair of Marquez siblings? Both. It was a breakthrough, but nowhere near enough. Overtaking Marc Marquez for the lead twice in the first third of the opening lap was the first time all season Bagnaia has looked capable of taking any kind of fight to his new Ducati team-mate. That’s a plus.
Seven things we learned from MotoGP's sketchy COTA Friday

3 weeks ago | the-race.com | Valentin Khorounzhiy |Simon Patterson |Matt Beer

The MotoGP field ran virtually the full range of conditions on Friday at the Circuit of the Americas - except for, really, the optimal track conditions. Despite this, many riders felt they had a better idea of where they stack up after the wet-and-dry running, not just at COTA but through the start of 2025 as a whole. Here's what we learned in the first act of the Grand Prix of the Americas.
'I was scared' - Martin on injury anguish and MotoGP return

3 weeks ago | the-race.com | Valentin Khorounzhiy |Simon Patterson

Reigning MotoGP champion Jorge Martin has revealed he had feared his training injury ahead of the 2025 season could've been a career-ender - as he felt "my hand as never before". Martin was working himself to fitness after a different injury that effectively wrote off the entirety of his pre-season programme, when he crashed while supermoto training - with heavy damage to his left heel, but more worryingly his left hand/arm (specifically the scaphoid and radius bones).
There's finally hope for MotoGP's other king of COTA

4 weeks ago | the-race.com | Simon Patterson

Marc Marquez's seven Austin victories make him MotoGP's undisputed king of COTA, and an overwhelming favourite to sweep this weekend's United States Grand Prix. But there's another rider strongly associated with success at the circuit - one who might be on the verge of a breakthrough not as headline-grabbing as Marquez's works Ducati move and return to domination, but personally even more significant.