Peter McLaren

Peter McLaren's picture

Peter McLaren

MotoGP Editor

Peter has worked for Crash.net for almost 20-years, helping set up the website’s two-wheel coverage during the gap year of an Automotive (Mechanical) Engineering degree, then re-joining the company following the completion of his studies.

During his time covering MotoGP, Peter has seen 500cc two-strokes morph into 990cc, 800cc and now 1000cc four-strokes, followed the entire premier-class careers of Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo and watched the current generation of world champions Marc Marquez, Joan Mir and Fabio Quartararo emerge.

Peter’s academic background means he is particularly interested in the technical side of the sport, interviewing MotoGP’s engineering masterminds from Yamaha’s Masao Furusawa to Ducati’s Gigi Dall’Igna,

A chat with test rider Michele Pirro at the 2017 Sepang Shakedown test saw the term ‘salad box’ enter the MotoGP vocabulary while aerodynamics, electronics, ride height and holeshot devices are among the other technical topics to have captured Peter’s interest.

Memorable trackside moments include following the twists and turns of a thrilling but controversial 2015 season between Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo around the globe, plus Casey Stoner’s return to a Ducati MotoGP bike as a test rider and interviewing Nicky Hayden minutes after his final race win, in the WorldSBK class.

Standing on the inside of Stoner corner at Phillip Island, along the fearsome home straight at Mugello and Turn 3 at Sepang rank as Peter’s top MotoGP viewing picks, while a pillion ride around Silverstone with Neil Hodgson gave a first-hand insight into the extraordinary talents of world championship riders.

Peter’s own two-wheel adventures started with local BMX racing from the age of 5. Motocross and enduro bikes followed and, despite a terrible sense of direction, holiday time is often spent riding through the jungles of SE Asia.

Articles by Peter McLaren
MotoGP

Ducati may be setting records in MotoGP this season, but Marc Marquez admits he will still have doubts about his Gresini move ‘until I try the bike’.

MotoGP

With the MotoGP title momentum already suddenly swinging back in Francesco Bagnaia’s favour, the Italian warns he expects to be very strong at the upcoming rounds.

MotoGP

Having completed his first MotoGP event since May at Mandalika, Alex Rins’ recovery took a step back when he was forced to withdraw from this weekend’s Australian round.

Moto2

Future MotoGP rider Pedro Acosta can be crowned the 2023 Moto2 world champion in Thailand this weekend, despite falling on the sighting lap in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix.

MotoGP

While Maverick Vinales joined his fellow riders in supporting the decision to cancel Sunday’s Australian MotoGP Sprint on safety grounds, he felt they should have done a sighting lap as a final check of the track conditions.

Moto2

Celestino Vietti’s scary accident at the end of the 280km/h Phillip Island main straight was a major factor in halting the Australian Moto2 Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

Moto3

The MT Helmets MSI team has issued a ‘clarification’ after Diogo Moreira revealed he had lost consciousness in a fall on the sighting lap at the Australian Moto3 Grand Prix, but still took part in the race.

MotoGP

Luca Marini has underlined that strong gusts of wind, rather than heavy rain, was the decisive factor in abandoning Sunday’s Australian MotoGP Sprint race.

MotoGP

The Australian MotoGP Sprint race, rescheduled for Sunday, has been cancelled due to a storm battering the Phillip Island circuit.

Moto3

Moto3 rider Kaito Toba has been suspended from opening practice at next weekend’s Thai Grand Prix and fined 1,000 euros for behaving ‘in a disrespectful and abusive manner towards Officials’.

MotoGP

Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli felt sorry for the Phillip Island fans, after worsening weather prevented Sunday’s Australian MotoGP Sprint from taking place.

MotoGP

Marc Marquez and Repsol Honda team-mate Joan Mir shared the opinion of most riders that cancelling Sunday’s Australian MotoGP Sprint race had been the right decision.

Moto2

Race results from the 2023 Australian Moto2 Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

Moto3

Race results from the 2023 Australian Moto3 Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

MotoGP

Warm-up results from the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island, round 16 of 20 in the 2023 world championship.

Moto2

Results from the special warm-up session added to the 2023 Australian Moto2 Grand Prix schedule at Phillip Island.

Moto3

Results from the special warm-up session added to the 2023 Australian Moto2 Grand Prix schedule at Phillip Island.

MotoGP

Marc Marquez was the only rider to risk the soft rear tyre at the Australian MotoGP last season and got within 0.186s of what would have been his only victory of the year.

MotoGP

For most of Saturday’s Australian MotoGP, Jorge Martin’s soft tyre gamble looked like a smart move that was set to slash Francesco Bagnaia’s title lead.

MotoGP

A lacklustre Saturday at the Australian MotoGP ended with Fabio Quartararo the top Yamaha across the finish in just 14th place.

MotoGP

Race results from the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island, round 16 of 20 in the 2023 world championship.

MotoGP

New World Championship standings after Saturday's Australian MotoGP race at Phillip Island, round 16 of 20.

Moto2

Qualifying results from the 2023 Australian Moto2 Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

MotoGP

Full Qualifying results and grid line-up for the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island, round 16 of 20 in the 2023 world championship.

Moto3

Qualifying results from the 2023 Australian Moto3 Grand Prix at Phillip Island.