The Motorsport Files

Hosted by Drew Bentham, Zac Stanley & Chris Gilbertson, new episodes land every week covering Formula 1, BTCC, WRC, ERC and British rally and racing - race weekend reviews alongside in-depth conversations with the drivers, co-drivers and rising talent living it. Expect genuine human stories over lap times and standings, including an ongoing commitment to spotlighting the women shaping motorsport at every level. Whether you've followed the sport for decades or you're just discovering it, follow along so you never miss an episode.

The Motorsport Files is a leisure podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 32 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts The Motorsport Files, a leisure show with 32 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #33

  Ford Returns to WRC in 2028: What It Means

  Oct 1, 20269 minS1

  Ford is returning to the WRC as a full factory team in 2028, with an all-new WRC27 car planned for 2029. Drew and Chris react to the news from Rally Sardinia and ask whether it could tip Hyundai into staying. Ford Racing announced a full works programme from 2028 alongside M-Sport, its first since 2012. In this short episode we look at what it means for M-Sport after a tough few years, Malcolm Wilson's long history with Ford, the new promoter, the WRC27 era, whether the new car could be petrol or electric, and what it could mean for Hyundai, Toyota and a bigger grid. In this episode: (00:00) Ford are back: a works team for M-Sport (01:04) M-Sport's rocky few years (01:57) Malcolm Wilson and Ford's rally heritage (03:11) Fiesta first: Rally2 vs WRC27 (05:18) Can Ford tip Hyundai's decision? (07:18) Toyota, Ford, Hyundai and Subaru? (07:55) Drew's lifelong Ford love Your turn: will Ford's return convince Hyundai to commit? Tell us on our socials. Subscribe to The Motorsport Files wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a rating or review if you enjoyed it.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #32

  Did Solberg Just Blow the WRC Title Race Open?

  Sep 23, 202659 minS1

  Toyota confirm a 10th world title, but Solberg's Chile masterclass turns the fight three ways. Drew and Chris break down a Rally Chile that flipped the championship picture. Solberg drove a calm, controlled weekend at the front while Evans lost more than two minutes to a puncture on the penultimate stage and dropped from second to 5th, turning a comfortable points day into a genuine three way fight with two rounds left. Ogier still refuses to let his own Toyota teammates have it easy, Fourmaux continues to look like a rally winner without the result to prove it, and Neuville survives a huge multiple roll that ends his weekend early. They also get into whether a 10th Toyota championship means as much given how far ahead the team is of everyone else, Juha Kankkunen's appearance on the podium more than three decades after that first title, and a rough weekend for Taka Katsuta that raises real questions about his seat. Before the rally chat, Drew and Chris dig into the uncertainty hanging over Hyundai's WRC future, what the new WRC27 regulations might mean for the gap to Rally2 cars, and the driver market picture taking shape at Hyundai and M-Sport. Follow the show at tmfpod23 on social media and find full episode guides at www.themotorsportfiles.com. Timestamps 0:00 Intro and welcome back 1:28 Hyundai's uncertain WRC future 4:02 WRC27 regulations compared to the updated Rally2 7:57 What a Hyundai step back would mean for the drivers 11:46 Rally Chile: Toyota's title is confirmed 13:45 Does a tenth title mean less without real rivals 16:10 Individual liveries and Kankkunen's podium reunion 18:01 Taka Katsuta's brutal run of retirements 22:07 The queue of Toyota talent building behind him 24:08 The case for a Teemu Suninen seat 27:01 Oliver Solberg's mature, controlled win 29:17 Breaking down the Super Sunday numbers 32:21 Elfyn Evans' puncture and a title race blown open 35:28 Sami Pajari's quieter weekend 38:23 Ogier still racing his own teammates hard 40:03 Adrien Fourmaux, so close to a first win 44:47 Thierry Neuville's huge Chile crash 45:33 Esapekka Lappi's uncertain Hyundai future 46:55 Enni Malkonen deserves a top seat 49:00 John Armstrong's SS8 off for M-Sport 51:09 Armstrong vs McErlean, who is safer for next year 52:21 Could M-Sport run three or four cars next year 55:48 Saying goodbye to the Rally1 era

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #31

  Is The Madring Already F1's Most Hated New Track?

  Sep 20, 202654 minS1

  Kimi Antonelli won the first Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid's new Madring circuit, but Lando Norris was denied by a badly timed Virtual Safety Car and a seven second pit stop. Drew and Zac spend this episode working out which one of those actually cost him the race, and it isn't the one most people online blamed it on. In this episode, Drew Bentham and Zac Stanley go through every angle of Formula 1's return to Madrid, starting with Lance Stroll's slow motion trip into the barriers that triggered the Virtual Safety Car in the first place, and whether it should have brought out a VSC at all rather than a double waved yellow. They get into Ferrari's decision to leave Charles Leclerc's strategy to chance instead of pitting him under the caution, Oscar Piastri's fading role at McLaren, and just how far clear Antonelli now sits in the championship after Lewis Hamilton's early retirement with brake failure. There's also a proper go at the Madring itself, a purpose built circuit locked into the calendar for the next ten years that both hosts reckon produced one of the flattest races of the season despite the banked corner and city backdrop everyone was excited about beforehand. Red Bull's continued climb up the order, the ongoing wait for Isack Hajar to get back in the car, and Mercedes quietly closing in on Ferrari's all time win record all get a mention too. Once the race chat wraps up, the TMF Predictor game makes its comeback so we can mark our own homework from Madrid before locking in predictions for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Timestamps 0:00 Reacting to the Madring's F1 debut 12:49 How the Spanish Grand Prix actually unfolded 17:27 The Lance Stroll moment that changed the race 19:49 Piastri, McLaren's split strategy and the number two role 25:58 Ferrari's costly gamble with Leclerc 31:00 Mercedes, Antonelli and a title that's nearly done 39:09 Red Bull's progress and the Isack Hajar question 43:07 Marking our TMF Predictor picks from Madrid 46:46 Locking in our predictions for Baku If you enjoyed this episode, following the show means you won't miss the next one, and a quick rating or review on Apple Podcasts genuinely helps new listeners find us. Get the full episode guide and show notes at themotorsportfiles.com. Follow us everywhere else @tmfpod23 on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #30

  Is Ash Sutton BTCC's GOAT Now?

  Sep 16, 202649 minS1

  Ash Sutton is one weekend closer to a record 5th BTCC title after Croft, so are we ready to call him the greatest British Touring Car driver of all time? Drew and Chris break down the case, plus the prize money reveal and track limits mess that overshadowed the racing. This week on Motorsport Files, we're covering the 2026 BTCC round at Croft (5-6 September): Ash Sutton's title masterclass, his Race 1 team orders with Dan Cammish, and whether he belongs in the Jim Clark, Jason Plato and Colin Turkington conversation Dan Cammish's scrappy weekend, including the Tom Ingram clash and the Race 3 pile up Josh Cook's near perfect Croft, with pole, a qualifying race win and a Race 1 win The 18 track limits penalties handed out in one day, and why we think the stewards got several of the calls wrong Tom Ingram's collapse and his "we're looking at next year" comments Ricky Collard's exit from the championship and the reality of BTCC's prize money, or the lack of it What we heard on the official BTCC podcast with Alan Gow, Justina Williams of Excelr8 and Adam Weaver of Power Maxed Racing The independents title race as Mikey Doble closes in Turmoil inside the Mercedes squad, and our drivers of the weekend Josh Cook, Ash Sutton and Mikey Doble split the wins across Croft's three race Sunday, with Sutton's win his 55th in BTCC, moving him above Gordon Shedden and into 5th on the all time winners list. Tom Ingram's miserable weekend, scoring points in only one of three races, dropped him behind Dan Cammish in the standings, with Sutton now 115 points clear heading into the final two rounds at Silverstone and Brands Hatch. If you enjoyed this one, following the show and leaving a rating helps more than almost anything else we can ask for, since it is what gets Motorsport Files in front of new listeners.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #29

  Is George Russell Finished At Mercedes?

  Sep 11, 202658 minS1

  Kimi Antonelli won from P19 at Monza while George Russell got booed on the podium. We unpack F1's wildest weekend, Ferrari's meltdown and more. Zac and Drew are back after a short break to dig into one of the maddest race weekends of the season. Kimi Antonelli somehow won the Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid, going from P19 to P1 in under 25 minutes, while teammate George Russell fell apart in real time and got booed on the podium. We're asking the question nobody at Mercedes wants to answer: is Russell's time there coming to an end? Ferrari's home race turned into a proper disaster too, with Leclerc and Hamilton going wheel to wheel on lap one before Charles crashed out at Parabolica, and we get into why that relationship badly needs some ground rules. On top of that: a driver market where almost nobody is actually moving, whether Lance Stroll has finally run out of chances, Liam Lawson's rocky third race at Red Bull, Williams' worrying infrastructure problems, and why we can't stand F1's yo-yo overtaking. Then we look ahead to F1's brand new Madring circuit in Madrid and lock in our predictions for the Spanish Grand Prix. What's in this episode: 00:00 Intro, we're back 00:38 Driver market check-in: is silly season already over? 02:19 Has Lance Stroll finally run out of chances? 05:44 Alonso's future and the wait for V8 engines 07:43 Audi threaten to appeal the Monza formation lap call 08:59 Monaco's appeal drama returns 12:38 Liam Lawson's third race at Red Bull, is he good enough? 16:25 Kimi Antonelli's ridiculous Monza stats (P19 to P1) 20:48 "I'm done with George Russell" 25:31 Ferrari need rules of engagement after the Leclerc/Hamilton clash 35:51 McLaren's forgettable Monza weekend 41:20 Verstappen's "sandbagging" and a quiet P3 43:46 Williams' 17-year-old CAD system 47:04 Why the yo-yo overtakes are ruining the racing 49:42 First look at F1's brand new Madring circuit 51:27 Our Spanish Grand Prix predictions Get the full episode guide, show notes and extra reading at: https://www.themotorsportfiles.com That's also where you can sign up to our newsletter for stuff that doesn't make the podcast. Follow us everywhere else: @tmfpod23 (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook) If you enjoyed this episode, following the show means you won't miss the next one, and a quick rating or review genuinely helps new listeners find us. New episodes roughly every two weeks.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on The Motorsport Files. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.