Freddie Spencer And Marc Marquez Meet For The First Time
Freddie Spencer held the title of World’s Youngest Premier Class Grand Prix Winner for 31 years, until a baby-faced 20 year-old MotoGP rookie named Marc Marquez stole that title away from him earlier this year at the second round of the championship at Austin, Texas.
The two finally had a chance to meet at a special Alpinestars event at the Maxxess Megastore in Bordeaux, Saturday, June 8, where they reflected upon each other’s careers and accomplishments.
Said Spencer, of his record finally being broken: “It’s great. Hopefully, Marc may hold the record as long as I did; 31 years. For Marc to come along now and to perform like he has is great. Great to see, great for the sport!”
Consider this: Marquez was born ten years after Spencer won the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982 to set his record. However, the young Spaniard is well aware of Grand Prix history and the man whose record he now holds. He was more impressed with a different record Spencer still holds, and one which is unlikely to be matched.
“I saw many videos and from what people explained to me, Freddie was always more or less like me, always pushing, never was enough,” Marquez said. “When you see he competed in two World Championships on a Sunday [500cc and 250cc, winning both championships in 1985]…. now this I cannot imagine.”
The two compared and contrasted racing then and now, especially the differences in body positioning and racing in two classes in the same day. Catch the Q & A session below.
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Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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