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As 2025 ends, I want to use this as an opportunity to tie up a loose end of my own. After nearly 14 years, I’m formally bringing the curtain down on the Motorsport Broadcasting website. Why am I writing this when I’ve only published two articles in the past 18 months? For me, it’s important to acknowledge the closure of this chapter in my life rather than let it drift off into the sunset.
I started Motorsport Broadcasting, then The F1 Broadcasting Blog, when I was 19 back in April 2012 towards the end of my first year at university, my love of motor sport broadcasting having stemmed from many a day over on Digital Spy Forum (which still exists). Motorsport Broadcasting served me well through my twenties, with countless hours spent writing articles, combining the blog with my day job. For the first few years, it really was a side gig. Attending Channel 4’s F1 press day in 2016 changed that, and made me realise that there was so much more to this, as the years that followed showed: 8 x MotoGP weekends, 4 x Formula E weekends amongst many included.
While my love and interest in sports broadcasting remained into my 30s, I felt my love for writing regular pieces waning, not helped by a challenging content landscape. My interests outside of this site are more varied than what they were five to ten years ago, with running (a marathon runner too!), swimming, and an increased social circle filling the time, as well as going through a process of self-discovery. I’ve spent long periods this year without even thinking about this site. A few years ago, I would have resented writing that sentence, but now, I’m genuinely at peace with it. Time has moved on, the moment has passed, and I’ve come to accept that is okay.
As Motorsport Broadcasting grew, so did I. I made mistakes, some terrible ones to boot. I wrote things that I later regretted, but we live and learn. There’s things I didn’t do that I wish I did, but you can’t do everything. I must admit in hindsight, I do wince at how much content I wrote pre-COVID. Wait, did I really write that? Yes, Dave, yes you did…
Across the 13 years, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to see first hand what goes into creating the product you see on television. It’s tough. For every presenter or commentator on-air, there’s an editor, a producer, a replay operator amongst many working out of view keeping the show on the road. I don’t envy the person who makes the tough calls. But being close to the action has given me an appreciate for all the hard yards that goes into producing motor sport broadcasting.
No one goes into their shift on-air or in the booth thinking “hey, I’ll only give it 80% or 90% today.” No one. You’ll be found out, quickly. It’s easy to be an armchair critic without having access to all the facts, thinking that you can do it better. I’ve always tried to be fair and present different perspectives, sometimes with success and on other occasions less so. But hopefully I’ve never come across as unnecessarily critical towards a single party or another. In more recent years, I’ve made a concerted effort to shine a light on the wonderful voices and faces that make up our sport.
I’ve been lucky enough to interview many stars in front and behind the camera, and there are a few I want to thank. Firstly, a special thanks go to Kevin Brown and Billy McGinty. Kevin and Billy lead up TNT’s MotoGP operation and Sky’s F1 coverage respectively, both of whom have been extremely kind to me in terms of access – helping facilitate behind the scenes pieces and helping me to get closer to the production process.
Sticking with MotoGP, David Emmett, and Simon Patterson for their support with two-wheel coverage. Karun Chandhok for always being a friendly face in the Formula E paddock and during various Autosport weekends. To the person that once called me an “angry student,” David Croft, I should probably admit all these later that this quote was justified despite my best attempts to deny it! Genuinely though, Crofty, thank you for the support, and for the hours of entertainment over the years.
To the whole Whisper team, led by Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard and Sunil Patel, thank you for your generous access and hospitality behind the scenes at both W Series and Formula E. The last thank you needs to go to someone who isn’t just a great broadcaster, but frankly an inspiration to me and many others: Jennie Gow. Jennie had a stroke three years ago and has since returned to broadcasting on 5 Live F1. Jennie’s words to me ring true every day: “When you’re having a bad day, just remember that a good day is just round the corner.” Those words struck a chord when she first said that to me, and they still do now. Thank you, Jennie.
There’s countless other people I could thank, but I worry I’d invertedly miss someone off, and it may turn into a “who’s who” role call of motor sport broadcasting personalities. Thanks to this small corner of the internet, and through my role as Community Champion with Racing Pride, I’ve met people who I’m proud to call friends. It’s opened doors that I didn’t realise existed, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. While this chapter may be ending, I will never be too far away from a motor sport paddock.
There’s one last thanks to give, and that is to you, the reader. Because without you, there wouldn’t have been 3.5 million hits, 2 million words, 1,500 articles and 7,500 comments on this site. Thank you for engaging, whether you have been there from day one, or a more recent follower. Nearly 14 years isn’t bad for something that I never intended to last anywhere near that long!
All posts will stay online, but there will be no new content moving forward. If you want to see what I’m up to moving forward you can find me on LinkedIn or follow my Substack. As I said up front, my love for sports broadcasting has not waned, so if you’re working on a project and you feel my input would be valuable, I’m still happy for you to drop me a message and I’ll see how I can help. If you’ve met me and want to follow my Instagram, I’m also happy for you to do so.
For now, thank you, and I hope you have a happy and healthy 2026. From me, over, and out.
Dave
