Ten years of True Heroes Racing: Interview with Phil Spencer
POSTED: 28/08/2022
Ten years of fantastic work
The season is in full swing and for the True Heroes Racing team, it's a big one. The team have provided opportunities for military veterans to get involved in racing for over a decade now - and they continue to grow every year! We caught up with Phil Spencer, Founder and Team Principal of the True Heroes Racing team and asked him a few questions about how and why he established the team all that time ago and what his plans are for the next decade to follow.
Scroll down for the interview with Phil Spencer...
Would you rather read the interview? No problem!
What inspired you to start the True Heroes Racing team ten years ago?
"I came back from Afghanistan and wanted to do something for those less fortunate than me, so I started raising money for military charities, started getting involved in BSB doing hospitality days for injured servicemen, etc. Then one day I just thought, "why are we stood on the sidelines? Let's get involved directly in the sport!" and that's how True Heroes Racing came to fruition in 2012."
What has been your best or most memorable moment with the True Heroes Racing team over the last 10 years?
"Where to start?! We've achieved so many amazing things over the ten years. Bringing the first disabled rider into British Superbikes in 2013 with Murray Hambro - and last weekend Chris Ganley became the first ever single arm amputee to race at this level. The help and benefits we've provided for people involved with us over the years - those are the achievements of this organisation and you can't really pull one single one out."
What is your proudest moment over the last ten years?
"Proudest moment... again the same sort of stuff I suppose. Bringing disabled competitors into the sport. By just bringing disability competitors and disability involvement in motorcycle racing to the forefront, we've sort of... not championed it directly, but it's been fallout from what we are and what we do. We're looked at by the organisers as the subject matter experts when it comes to disability involvement in motorcycle racing."
What has been your toughest challenge to date in these last 10 years?
"Toughest challenge for us was probably 2017 when Mark was killed at Thruxton. Coming back from that was difficult for me as the person who put him on the track in the first place. But we know being here still is what Mark would have wanted us to do. Helping more people would have been what Mark wanted us to do and therefore that's what we're doing."
What have you learned in these last ten years of True Heroes Racing?
"What have I learned over the last ten years? Jesus, what haven't I learnt?! I wasn't a motorcyclist on the road, I haven't done a track day in my life let alone go racing or run a race team, so I've learned so much about the sport, about bikes, about the commercial side of things, sponsorships, social media, everything! I didn't know any of it, I was a military person who had served for 19 years when I started this organisation and I didn't have a clue about the real world. Now ten years down the line I'm in a different mindset, a different place and I've learned so much - even now still learning... What's VAT?! I've just had to learn about that in the last couple of years! So you never stop learning in this sport."
What are your aspirations for True Heroes Racing over the next ten years?
"The next ten years, we just want to continue to expand and continue to offer more opportunities. I've got loads of big aspirations... we'd love to have a facility we can run 24/7 to offer more opportunities for guys and girls both between racing and out of racing. Aspirations to continue to the top level in the sport and just keep fielding more bikes. You may know that we are the biggest single team in the paddock as it is, but that's not enough for me - I want to do more. I want to offer more opportunities for more guys and girls to get involved and benefit from being involved in True Heroes Racing."
Want to race like the pros?
.jpg)
The Panigale V2
The new Panigale V2 is a compact yet beefy motorcycle built with clear-cut lines that convey aggressive power and Ducati performance engineering. Featuring a single-sided aluminium swingarm, the hallmark of the most supreme sports bikes. Are you ready to take off like a missile?
Stay in the know with Laguna
To receive all the latest news and promotions please join our newsletter
Laguna Motorcycles
Hart Street
Maidstone, Kent
ME16 8RA
Telephone: 01622 681765
Laguna Performance Centre
Brunswick Road
Ashford, Kent
TN23 1EN
Telephone: 01233 665520
Laguna Triumph Ashford
Ashford Road
Ashford, Kent
TN23 3EN
Telephone: 01233 636699
Laguna Triumph Maidstone
Forstal Road, Aylesford
Maidstone, Kent
ME20 7XA
Telephone: 01622 585666
Maidstone Harley-Davidson®
Forstal Road
Aylesford
Maidstone, Kent
ME20 7XA
Telephone: 01622 711680
Maidstone Honda
Forstal Road
Aylesford
Maidstone, Kent
ME20 7XA
Telephone: 01622 713950
Kent Motorcycles
Dover Road (A2)
Barham,
Canterbury, Kent
CT4 6SA
Telephone: 01227 832601
Manufacturer offers can not be redeemed in conjunction with any of the Laguna exclusive offers.
Laguna Motorcycles Limited (which include multiple trading names: Laguna Motorcycles, Laguna Performance Centre, Laguna Triumph, Maidstone Honda, Maidstone Harley-Davidson® and Kent Motorcycles) is an Appointed Representative of Automotive Compliance Ltd who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA No. 497010). Automotive Compliance Ltd’s permissions as a Principal Firm allows Laguna Motorcycles Limited (which include multiple trading names: Laguna Motorcycles, Laguna Performance Centre, Laguna Triumph, Maidstone Honda, Maidstone Harley-Davidson® and Kent Motorcycles) to act as a credit broker, not a lender, for the introduction to a limited number of lenders, and to act as an agent on behalf of the insurer for insurance distribution activities only.
We are a credit broker and not a lender. We can introduce you to a carefully selected panel of lenders, which includes manufacturer lenders linked directly to the franchises that we represent. We act on behalf of the lender for this introduction and not as your agent. We are not impartial, and we are not an independent financial advisor.
Our approach is to introduce you first to the manufacturer lender linked directly to the particular franchise you are purchasing your vehicle from, who are usually able to offer the best available package for you, taking into account both interest rates and other contributions. If they are unable to make you an offer of finance, we then seek to introduce you to whichever of the other lenders on our panel is able to make the next most suitable offer of finance for you. Our aim is to secure a suitable finance agreement for you that enables you to achieve your financial objectives. If you purchase a vehicle, in the majority of cases, we will receive a commission from your lender for introducing you to them which is either a fixed fee, or a fixed percentage of the amount that you borrow. This may be linked to the vehicle model you purchase.
Different lenders pay different commissions for such introductions, and manufacturer lenders linked directly to the franchises that we represent may also provide preferential rates to us for the funding of our vehicle stock and also provide financial support for our training and marketing. But any such amounts they and other lenders pay us will not affect the amounts you pay under your finance agreement; however, you will be contributing towards the commission paid to us with the interest collected on your repayments. Before we propose you to a potential lender, we will inform you of the likely amount of commission we will receive and seek your consent to receive this commission. The exact amount of commission that we will receive will be confirmed prior to you signing your finance agreement.
All finance applications are subject to status, terms and conditions apply, UK residents only, 18s or over. Guarantees may be required. Please see our complaints page for our complaints policy and regulatory complaints.
