Marc Marquez Analysis: How does he compare with Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner?

Heading in direction of a summer season break following the fifth 37-point weekend, Mark Marquez lastly admitted that he had lengthy ideas about lots of the Padocs in 2025. That is now his championship.

After 12 rounds, the manufacturing unit Ducati riders have been cleared 120 factors of their MotoGP standings, incomes eight Grand Prix wins and 11 profitable sprints. Solely two of those 12 occasions don’t function him on Sunday’s podium.

Step one in his kind that returned to his Honda domination period with the GP25 Harks in 2025 is undoubtedly extra spectacular contemplating the truth that he’s now 32 years outdated and is away from behind a severe arm damage in 2020 and the years of restoration that adopted.

However it additionally coincided with a subject that did not have a candle. Alex Marquez did an amazing job within the early components of his Gresini Ducati marketing campaign a 12 months in the past, even main the rating twice. Nevertheless, though the anticipated a number of Grand Prix wins haven’t come, Pecco Bagnaia’s kind has fallen dramatically as it’s unable to adapt to the GP25.

Mark Marquez did not have any stretches, nevertheless it was straightforward. Nevertheless, his rival selected a foul 12 months to make a mistake, contemplating how good the 32-year-old is definitely this season.

There are nonetheless 10 races, however Indonesia’s 18th spherical 18 on October 3-5 means that Marquez would be the seventh weekend within the premier class, matching backback Valentino Rossi tally in 2009.

Scoring on a median of 31.75 factors per weekend in comparison with nearest title rival Alex Marquez’s 21.75, Mark Marquez can rejoice his first Ducati Championship within the yard of Motegi’s Honda. If he scores 103 or extra factors over Alex Marquez within the subsequent 4 rounds – this isn’t a small job – he even managed to shut the championship at Misano in mid-September.

Each time he celebrates the 2025 title, it falls into historical past as one of many best seasons of all time. However how does it evaluate to different dominant campaigns of the current day?

How does Marquez’s 2025 stack up towards the dominant years of the previous?

Marquez’s tally for 2025 may be very spectacular. Particularly contemplating how shut the sector is in present MotoGP, he considers the truth that he has 22 further races per season in sprints over the standard Grands Prix.

Naturally, his present marketing campaign jogs my memory of probably the most dominant championship in 2019 together with his newest world title thus far. That 12 months, Marquez received 12 instances on the manufacturing unit Honda, taking a 151 factors lead within the year-end rankings. It’s the greatest profitable margin of any fashionable rider. He additionally concluded the rostrum for only one time.

What significantly struck me in regards to the marketing campaign was the truth that Honda was actually incompetent. There are three different HRC podiums within the season, all from Cal Crutchlow, LCR. Solely Marquez from Japan’s Marche received by bicycle.

He took up a complete of 88.4% of the factors accessible that 12 months. At the moment he has 85.8% of the factors accessible in 2025, however 12 rounds after the nineteenth spherical in 2019.

He was equally dominant in 2018, however he scored 76 factors within the championship, 4 of 9 wins and 18 rounds with no podium. Previous to that, he scored a file 13 instances in his 2014 marketing campaign, however solely had a 67-point lead within the end-of-season standings. He additionally failed to achieve the rostrum simply 4 instances from the 18th spherical.

Earlier than Marquez’s domination turned a MotoGP staple within the 2010s, you may want to return to 2011 to see comparable shows. Additionally at manufacturing unit Honda, Casey Stoner misplaced to his second world title with a 90-point championship benefit and 10 wins.

In 2007 he was much more dominant on the manufacturing unit Ducati, profitable the championship with 10 wins with 125 factors. Jorge Lorenzo’s 2010 was one of many extra dominant years of MotoGP, with Yamaha’s 138-point rider profitable 9 championships. Teammate Valentino Rossi received 9 races on the best way to a 93-point lead within the 2008 standings. In each circumstances, the pair have been off the rostrum twice.

Naturally, domination and Valentino Rossi are two phrases that come collectively nicely. In 2002, the primary of the trendy MotoGP period, he led manufacturing unit Honda to an 11 wins and a 140-point lead in rankings. In 2003, he scored 80 factors in 9 wins, however he scored the rostrum in any respect Grand Prix, giving him 89.25% of the factors accessible within the sixteenth spherical.

His 2005 title goes to the toes with Marquez’s 2019 finest race ever. Rossi dominated utterly on the manufacturing unit Yamaha, incomes 11 wins and podiums in 16 of the 17 rounds, celebrating a 147-point title from everybody else.

Who had one of the best machine?

Rating one of the best seasons ever in MotoGP is actually tough to quantify. There are little doubt that there are two unexpected circumstances. One is a boundary that goes straight to your thoughts along with your brutal rival and comes up on the highest, or the opposite is an embarrassing line for others.

Nevertheless, fashionable MotoGP title fights have been hardly ever a wire difficulty in apply. The 2022-2024 battle was within the remaining spherical, however solely in 2017, 2015, 2013 and 2006.

This was the best possible expertise in twenty first century MotoGP, the place at one level most of them have been utterly dominated. Nevertheless, rating pure benefits is sort of unimaginable as there are at all times various factors in play.

All seasons listed within the desk above earned three wins from others from the makers of riders they received in 2003. In 2014, Marquez was fairly unstoppable, however his teammate Dani Pedrosa spent a lot of the 12 months fighting arm pumps. Stoner’s teammate Pedrosa was additionally injured in 2011, however Andrea Doviziono was not sufficient to win the race on the manufacturing unit Honda.

In 2010, Lorenzo’s title cost was considerably simpler when teammate Rossi broke his leg in the course of the season. The identical applies to 2008. The newcomer Lorenzo is quick, however errors are more likely to happen.

The early years of Rossi’s benefit over the RC211V appeared on one of the best bikes on the grid. Nevertheless, the standard of his rivals was inferior to the second half of his profession. 5 victories in 2003 took the trail of different Honda riders, highlighting the flexibility of the RC211V and 2003 winner Sete Gibernau to sometimes plague Rossi.

In 2005, Yamaha riders didn’t beat any of the opposite than Rossi, however the M1 of that 12 months is taken into account among the best bikes ever. The Yamaha secure Yamaha exterior of Rossi is just not as sturdy because the Honda secure, and there weren’t solely three to be celebrated by the non-Italian M1. They have been scored by Colin Edwards, who completed 188 factors late within the championship.

In 2007, Casey Stoner positively did not have one of the best bike. He dominated at Ducati, however sure, he received as soon as exterior his 10 wins. Final 12 months he recalled that the GP7 was “not superb.” Stoner was fairly sad on the time, permitting him to dominate that stage after his quick however crash-prone debut on the LCR Honda in 2006.

In some ways, Marquez’s 2019 and Stoner’s 2007 are seasons the place one rider is much out of attain within the championship. Nevertheless, there are some things that can take 2019 a bit additional. To begin with, the grid’s competitiveness in 2019 was much better than in 2007. Marquez fell to the tip of the battles at Muguero, Austria and Silverstone that 12 months, operating close by elsewhere.

He earned nearly 8% extra factors in his 2019 marketing campaign than Stoner did in 2007. This might be attributed to Marquez’s look on the rostrum and 4 Stoner appearances. And, as I’ve already stated, Honda could not have executed that. Marquez was in a position to experience the issue, similar to Stoner was at Ducati.

So, getting 151 factors will clear by means of all of that.

The perfect bike questions of 2025 are a bit tough to reply. The GP25 might be not one of the best Ducati has been on observe just lately. It was solely a as soon as win exterior Marquez’s arms, and Pecco Bagnaia’s Austin victory was a direct results of his teammate crashing from the dominant lead.

In idea, the GP24 is a greater bike. However Alex Marquez solely made it a single Grand Prix victory and a dash victory. Ducati has solely been beat twice. One time with Le Mans by Honda, Aprilia is moist with odd silver stone lace.

However, as he did in 2019, Mark Marquez is simply using alongside the issues the bike has – Bagnaia has repeatedly admitted that he merely cannot. As for the worsening bikes, Honda in 2019 stays Marquez’s finest once more this 12 months.

But when he continues what he has already executed this 12 months, it will be onerous to contemplate 2025 as his greatest season – and one of the best 12 months ever for contemporary riders.