Freddie Spencer

Freddie Spencer will go down in history as one of the greatest American motorcycle road racers of all time. In addition to winning three World Championships, he is the only rider ever to win both the 250cc and 500cc/MotoGP Grand Prix World Champioships in the same season (1985); the only rider to win three major races during Bike Week at Daytona International Speedway; and the youngest rider to win the 500cc/MotoGP GrandPrix World Championship, until Marc Marquez broke his record 30 years later.

Spencer was born 20 December 1961 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and soon became a racing prodigy, learning to ride at the age of four and entering his first races at five. By the time he was eleven, Spencer had already won numerous state and regional dirt track racing championships in Texas and Louisiana. As a teen, Spencer began concentrating on road racing and continued winning by earning national amateur and professional road racing championships.

Spencer retired from full-time GP racing in 1988, but made a couple of comebacks in the next few years. He went on to win three more US Superbike nationals, including his memorable final AMA national victory on a rain-soaked Laguna Seca Raceway in 1995, and officially retired later that year.

After his racing career was over, Spencer founded a successful motorcycle riding school and businesses in Las Vegas in 1997. He also served as an expert analyst for the SpeedChannel TV network for 12 years to cover motorcycle races until 2008.

Then both his professional and personal lives changed dramatically as he began the personal journey of philosophical self-exploration, travelling the world and sharing his experiences with others. Now he can share the story he was always supposed to tell.