David Emmett's blog

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

After Marc Marquez wrapped up the 2018 MotoGP title at Motegi, Freddie Spencer takes a look back at the race. But before he starts on that, he has a few words to say on the fact that he will be the Chair of the FIM Panel of Stewards from next year.

Ten years ago today, on the 1st October 2008, I left the safe confines of employment to strike out on my own. MotoMatters.com went from being something I did in my spare time, to being my main endeavor. It has been quite a ride.

I suppose I could have expected something of a rough ride. I had handed in my notice in August, as the site I started two years previously went from strength to strength, the audience growing monthly. Then, on 15th September 2008, the financial services giant Lehman Brothers collapsed, triggering the global financial crisis and taking the economy of much of the world down with it.

It was too late. I had made my bed, now I had to lie in it. I chose the path of pursuing a dream, of trying to make a living from writing, and writing about motorcycle racing. Giving up immediately after I started might have been the financially more sensible solution, but sensible has never really been my strong suit.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

In the latest episode of Freddie Spencer's Motor Sport Magazine video blog, the former world champion turns his attention to the events of Misano. Spencer first discusses his time racing at the circuit, a track which was very different in his time. He talks about what he learned racing there, but more importantly, what he learned about motorcycle racing as a team sport.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

Despite the fact that there wasn't a race at Silverstone, Freddie Spencer has plenty to say about the event. The former world champion starts off with a recollection of his own about the miserable weather at the Northamptonshire track, and about how he used terrible conditions in the 250cc race to his advantage in the 500cc race. He wonders why puddling on the track, which he saw back in 1985, is still a problem.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

In the latest edition of his Rider Insights video blog, Freddie Spencer takes a look back at the German round of MotoGP at the Sachsenring. Though Spencer never raced there during his Grand Prix years - the circuit wasn't built until well after he had retired - Fast Freddie knows the circuit well, having taken part in several events at the track, including the Sachsenring Classic. Spencer explains what it takes to go fast around the very particular circuit, and the demands it imposes on rider and machine.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

In this edition of Freddie Spencer's video blog, the former world champion takes a look back at one of the greatest premier class races in history, the 88th Dutch TT at Assen. Spencer starts off talking about the possibility of bringing F1 to Assen, and the reasons not to be too enamored of the idea. He looks back at his experiences of riding at Assen, at what was then a much longer track with the magical North Loop still intact.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

In the latest episode of his video blog, Freddie Spencer shares his thoughts on Jorge Lorenzo's second consecutive victory on the Ducati, this time at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, near Barcelona. First, Fast Freddie gives his thoughts on the track, and what it takes to ride there, and more importantly, what it takes to succeed.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

In his latest video blog, Freddie Spencer takes a look back at the eventful Jerez round of MotoGP, and examines its repercussions on the championship. He starts off with a look back at his own first experiences of what is a fiery and passionate event, and his own first visit to the Jerez circuit. He then takes a quick digression to discuss the benefits and risks of rider training, with a view to Remy Gardner's injury picked up in an MX crash.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

There was certainly a lot for Freddie Spencer to talk about after an eventful Argentinian round of MotoGP, and the former world champion starts his latest video blog off with a memory of the only time he got to race in the country, his very first race in his first full season 500cc.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. After every MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

The MotoGP season got underway on Sunday, and so Freddie Spencer takes time to sit down and analyze what went on under the floodlights at Qatar. Fast Freddie has a few comments on the problems caused by the new schedule at Qatar, before going on to discuss a fascinating qualifying session, which suggested that Marc Marquez would be the man to beat.

MotoMatters.com, in association with Motor Sport Magazine, is proud to feature the rider insights of 1983 and 1985 500cc world champion Freddie Spencer. Every week after each MotoGP race, Fast Freddie will share what he saw and learned from the race.

A new season means another season of video blogs by the legendary 500cc champion Freddie Spencer. In this blog, Fast Freddie answers a number of questions sent in to Motor Sport Magazine podcast he did with Mat Oxley, then goes on to examine the state of play in MotoGP after preseason testing. He runs down the different manufacturers, how Honda have started strong, how Jorge Lorenzo has been up and down, and how Yamaha have lost their way.

It has been a long year in motorcycle racing. A rewarding, entertaining, surprising, and wonderful year, but with so much going on, it has been hard to keep up. So much so that we have been left exhausted at trying to cover it all, and depressed at how utterly we have failed to cover just a fraction of all the things which happened this year.

The MotoMatters.com calendar has earned a loyal following and customer base through the years. However, for a variety of logistical reasons, it has proven impossible to put together a calendar for 2018. So if anyone was holding out for a Christmas present, we are very sorry to disappoint you.

We are hoping this is only a temporary hiatus. The plan is to bring the MotoMatters.com calendar back for next year. Fingers crossed we will not face the same insurmountable problems we did this year.