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!

Episode #400: The Doctor - The Valentino Rossi Retrospective

Okay, this actually IS Episode 503 this time, promise. Our bad!

But MotoGP is back for 2024 for its season opener in Qatar! And in it, Francesco Bagnaia reminded the sport that he very much still him, winning in comfortable fashion! But to his surprise, it was Brad Binder that posed the biggest threat to him on a KTM. Is it a sign of things to come?

Inevitably, we have to talk about Marc Marquez who finished in the Top 5 in the Sprint and the Race, and was only about a tenth of Bagnaia's pace? A good sign for the future? And of course, the excitement is here in Tech3's Pedro Acosta, who at one point was ahead of Marquez and thinking about a podium before draining his tyres. A star is here?

Also, talk about the new Moto2, and an incredible comeback in Moto3 by "Magic" David Alonso, all on tap in another Motorsport101!

Episode #503: 2024 MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix Review

NOTE: This is a reupload of Episode 502 from last week, reason being was due to an error where I (Admin Dre), uplaoded the wrong episode into your feed, and gave you 503 instead, this was my mistake, and Spotify didn't want to upload the updated version, so for those who have missed out on there, here's Episode 502. Again! My bad - Dre

You know what they say about meeting your heroes? How about racing them?

Ollie Bearman is the story of the weekend here, after having to sub in for Carlos Sainz getting a nasty bout of appendicitis. But Bearman did a brilliant job subbing in qualifying in 11th and finishing 7th on just 24 hours notice. Is this proof that Bearman is the real deal?

Also, alongside Max Verstappen's 19th win in the last 20 races, Haas pulled a nasty bit of gamesmanship using Kevin Magnussen as a blocker to let Nico Hulkenberg back in front on an alternate strategy to finish 10th, despite 20 seconds of time penalties and a potential FIA complaint from RB. Was that fair?

And finally, yet more from the horrible Christian Horner investigation as it turns as Helmut Marko cried wolf over another potential investigation, and BBC reports the victim of the alleged reports has been suspended.

All that and more on another loaded M101!

(REUPLOAD) Episode #502: 2024 F1 Saudi Arabian GP Review

It's a loaded smorgasbord of Racing here on Episode 505 of the Motorsport101 Podcast! We bring back Keepin It 101 here as RJ returns from the 12 Hours of Sebring over in IMSA as a member of the press and reports on one of the best races of 2024. We also talk NASCAR at Bristol as tyre wear was the order of the day and Denny Hamlin won a classic around the short track!

Then we get into our main event, the weirdness of Formula E as Sao Paulo... actually delivered. Sam Bird took his first win in the series since New York in 2021 as he nailed a late last corner pass on Mitch Evans to steal the win, as Jake Dennis, Pascal Wehrlein and Oli Rowland all fought for the final podium spot too. We also talk about how important the win is for Sam, McLaren's 1st F-E win, and the series as a whole.

We also talk about the new nature of the series running - Peloton Racing. Is it a form of racing for the series that is sustainable long-term for Formula E's future? A deep dive on it all on the latest M101 with Dre Harrison and RJ O'Connell!

Episode #505: Sebring, Bristol and Formula E's 2024 Brazil ePrix

Hey folks, this is the audio version of the newest M101 written Article, March's Ask Dre post for 2024, and in it, Dre goes into detail about whether Hamilton can "un-honse" Ferrari, whether BMW are serious about a MotoGP expansion, how much of an impact Trackhouse can make as newcomers into the sport, and whether Josef Newgarden is truly "back" in the series!

Written Article - Ask Dre (March 2024); Hamilton "Un-Honsing" Ferrari, BMW to MotoGP?

Well... that was an upset alright?! 

Max Verstappen, after 43 straight scoring finishes and 1,055 consecutive points scored, Verstappen fails to finish a race as a stuck brake on the grid ended his Australian GP early! And with it, it cleared the way for a Ferrari 1-2 finish as Carlos Sainz ends Max's 9-race winning streak, again! We talk all of that and the McLaren/Ferrari fight afterwards!

Also, Fernando Alonso copped a 20-second penalty for "aggrevating circumstances" after his erratic driving into Turn 6 was what led to George Russell crashing into the fence on the final lap. Right call? Or another stewarding can of worms?

And finally, WIlliams had a dilemma of their own after Alex Albon wrecked his car so badly on Friday that they had to sacrifice Logan Sargeant's car to allow Albon to continue. We break down the craziness of that decision and much on another Motorsport101!

Episode #506: 2024 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Review

MotoGP heads back to Portugal for a brief stop in Europe for Round 2 of the Championship and the first true look at the state of the field... oh and Jorge Martin dominated from start to finish. We break down Spain's #1 hope in regaining the title as he led every single lap in Portimao!

Martin also leaves Portugal with an 18-point Championship lead after contenders Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia had a crash at Turn 5 with just a couple of laps to go, taking each other out of contention. Was there someone to blame or just another racing incident? 

And we also gush over Pedro Acosta after the 19-year old became just the third teenager in Premier Class history and the first since 1979 to hit a Grand Prix podium. This man is quite possibly the truth! 

All that and more on another Motorsport101!

Episode #507: 2024 MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix Review

This is an audio track from a written article originally on Motorsport101 as Dre talks about Liberty Media's massive $4bn deal to buy Dorna Sports and the commercial rights holds for MotoGP. Just what does this all mean? Dre tries to make sense of it, in about 10 minutes!

Written Article: So Liberty Has Bought MotoGP... Now What?

Did you miss that fortnight when it wasn't Max Verstappen winning? Well, he was back with a vengence in Japan as Red Bull would go onto dominate the Japanese GP with a 1-2 finish in its new April timeslot.

But in optimistic news, if there was any doubt left, Ferrari are clearly the #2 team with Carlos Sainz keeping up his 100% podium streak alive, and Charles Leclerc with a masterful tyre saving drive to finish 4th, we break down their performances, as well as the reshuffle behind the scenes at McLaren and the struggles of Mercedes. 

We also breakdown the Lap 1 crash between Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo, and with Yuki Tsunoda in the points (The first for a Japanese rider at home since 2012), is the Honey Badger's seat in trouble? All that and more in another M101!

Episode #508: F1 2024 Japanese Grand Prix Review

The last time Max Verstappen raced in China, he had just five career wins as Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 with Valtteri Bottas in close company. Five years later, Max has won 53 races since, the same as the rest of the field. Welcome back to Shanghai huh?

In this episde, Dre, RJ and Cam breakdown the latest Max Verstappen win, his brilliant pitcrew AVERAING a 2.0 across their four stops, and Lando Norris coming inbetween with a 1-stopper ran beautifully...

...Off the back of a messy pair of Safety Cars, and Lance Stroll caight hotdogging as he drove into the back of Daniel Ricciardo while still under yellow. It's getting really tiring talking in this way about a driver with nearly 150 starts to his name, but here we are...

We also talk about the difficult situation Zhou Guanyu is in. He got a lot of special treatment in his first ever home race, with Yao MIng saying he could be to F1 what he was to Basketball. Is that fair? And with Nico Hulkenberg now heading to Sauber for 2025, will this be Zhou's one and only home race?! 

And finally, F1's considering going to 12 places for points in the future. Is that the move to bandaid the Top 5 teams being so dominant? Let us know, with that and more on a new Motorsport101!

Episode #510: 2024 Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix Review

In a very special episode of Motorsport101, and in troube to one of our favourite podcasts, "Well There's Your Problem", we did our own version of the show, "Well There's Your Caution", and on it, we talk about the Gosh Darn News of a huge Short Track wreck, the first shots in the IndyCar Push to Pass Scandal, and Kawasaki leaving World Superbikes. Then, for the main feature, we talk about the rise of Japanese Motorsport, and the construction of Fuji International Speedway. Enjoy!

Episode #511: Well There's Your Caution - Fuji Speedway (WTYP Tribute)

Motorsport101 is an alternative Motorsport podcast, made by all walks of life, for all walks of life, hosted by Dre Harrison, alongside Cameron Buckley and RJ O'Connell! Every week we tackle the biggest show on the motor racing planet, Formula One, as well as Indycar, Formula E! We aim to be a refreshing, newer, more modern take on the world of Motorsport, and we hope you enjoy the show!

Episode #400: The Doctor - The Valentino Rossi Retrospective

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