With his second-place finish at Motegi, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) became a seven-time MotoGP World Champion – just like Valentino Rossi.
So in the sport’s deepest rivalry – of the modern era most definitely, of all-time most probably – how do Marquez and Rossi stack up over seven crowns in MotoGP? First of all, let’s look at Marquez till now vs Rossi over his career.
| MARQUEZ | ROSSI | |
| Titles | 7 | 7 |
| Starts | 206 | 372 |
| Wins | 73 | 89 |
| Win rate | 35% | 24% |
| Podium | 126 | 199 |
| Podium rate | 61% | 53% |
| Fastest laps | 72 | 76 |
| Most wins in a row | 10 | 7 |
| Most podiums in a row | 16 | 23 |
That makes for interesting reading, with the Marquez fans likely feeling pretty smug now. But if we’re counting Marquez stats until race day in Motegi on Sunday, should we not count Rossi stats until race day in Malaysia in 2009, the day he wrapped up MotoGP title number seven?
We think it’s a fair question, given one set of stats covers the time taken to win a seventh crown and the other takes into account a whole career in MotoGP, something Marquez has not yet finished.
So on take two…
| MARQUEZ | ROSSI | |
| Titles | 7 | 7 |
| Starts | 206 | 166 |
| Wins | 73 | 77 |
| Win rate | 35% | 46,4% |
| Podium | 126 | 127 |
| Podium rate | 61% | 76,5% |
| Fastest laps | 72 | 63 |
| Most wins in a row | 10 | 7 |
| Most podiums in a row | 16 | 23 |
Interesting reading, given Marquez’s injury struggles and the years he seems likely to have have to compete. Where will the stats go by the time Marc Marquez goes from reigning World Champion to fellow MotoGP Hall of Famer? We can only watch and wait…