The final round of the MotoGP season at Valencia marked the end of an era for many people in the paddock, including myself and the rest of the BBC team. After ten seasons of coverage on terrestrial television the series will move to BT Sport in 2014 and become part of a formidable sports line-up on the telecommunications giants’ new platform. The past decade has encompassed a golden era for Grand Prix motorcycle racing: Valentino Rossi riding at the very peak of his abilities and the crowning of no fewer than four other premier-class World Champions in Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez – all live to a free-to-air audience in the UK, something I am proud to have been a very small part of.

There are too many highlights from that time to mention here in terms of the action on track but for me it has been a great honour to be so close to the riders during the seconds and minutes in the immediate aftermath of the greatest achievements of their careers. I’ll remember speaking to all five World Champions as the reality of their accomplishments began to sink in, but the standout moment for me was speaking to Valentino after that incredible final-corner overtake on Jorge Lorenzo in Barcelona in 2009. It was a tipping point in the outcome of that particular championship and, in retrospect, Rossi’s last stand against the inevitable changing of the tide, but also a moment of pure racing instinct – the perfect combination of timing, skill and adrenaline. In the nine years I had worked with him up to that point and the countless interviews I conducted with him before and after I never saw him as pumped as those few minutes in parc-ferme and it gave me a true sense of his passion for the sport (a passion that has kept him racing even after the tide has changed).

I also vividly remember speaking to Valentino after his epic battle with Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca in 2008, and in particular overhearing their comments to each other, which were inadvertently picked up by my microphone and consequently went global. “This is racing, Casey,” Valentino said as Stoner expressed his dissatisfaction at some of the tactics that had been used by the Italian in the race. “This is racing is it? Okay, we’ll see…” Casey spat back, kicking off a feud that simmered until the Australian’s retirement. The funny thing about that day was that alongside myself and the usual line-up of Spanish and Italian reporters who also get exclusive access to the interview pen in ‘parc-fermé’ was Tom Cruise, who had asked Dorna if he could be allowed in to offer Rossi his own personal congratulations on the win. It was the umpteenth time that day that Cruise had asked to meet Rossi, who had eventually told his press officer to say that he was busy because he didn’t want to be bothered any more in the build-up to the race. I asked Cruise for a quick word with the BBC but, shaking my hand with a smile and nod in case any of the cameras were on him, the only word that came back was ‘no.’ Ah well, I suppose it made me realise how lucky I was to be in that position – even Tom Cruise had to ask permission to get into parc ferme!!

Another American superstar with a memorable word for the BBC was Slash, of Guns ‘N’ Roses, who told myself and our Sunday lunchtime audience that MotoGP was ‘pretty fucking awesome’ when I grabbed him on the grid at Le Mans. I’ve also been fortunate over the years to meet other huge stars like Carl Cox, Keith Flint, Paolo Nutini, Matt LeBlanc and Daniel Day-Lewis. The beauty of meeting these guys is not because they are famous but because they share the exact same passion as you and I. They like nothing better than to talk bikes and that always comes across above everything else. Unlike the celebs that pack the grid at Formula 1 events these people don’t go to MotoGP races because they want to be seen on television but because they genuinely love motorcycles and invariably ride themselves. They are there because they want to be there, which I am quite sure is the opposite to almost any other public appearance they make!

From my point of view MotoGP started off as a job and it became my passion too. Having the opportunity to share it with the great British public, as well as you sneaky internet streamers in the US and beyond, has been a true joy. Thanks for watching!