Marc Marquez continues to build an impressive list of records after another MotoGP world title in 2025, but according to Jorge Lorenzo, there’s one achievement the eight-time champion will never reach.
Marquez secured his place as the oldest MotoGP champion after clinching the title at the Japanese Grand Prix earlier in the year. The Spaniard overtook Rossi for that distinction in modern-day Grand Prix motorcycle racing. However, Leslie Graham still holds the 500cc premier class record, having won his championship at age 37 back in 1949.
It’s unlikely that Marquez will ever top that statistic, but he does hold records across other categories. Marquez remains both the youngest and oldest champion in Moto2 and Moto3 history and is also the youngest overall title winner in premier class history at just 20 years old.
He looked set to chase down even more accolades this season before a broken collarbone suffered in Indonesia ended his campaign early. With Marquez sidelined for the remainder of the year, Nicolo Bulega has stepped in to take over from Michele Pirro as his replacement for Honda Gresini across the final two rounds of 2025.
Lorenzo says Marc Marquez can’t match Valentino Rossi record
Lorenzo was asked whether he believed that Marc Marquez had surpassed his long-standing rival Valentino Rossi as MotoGP’s greatest rider ever during a recent appearance on DAZN.
Despite their differences on and off track throughout their careers, Lorenzo has a lot of respect for Rossi’s achievements outside of pure statistics.
The five-time world champion pointed out that while certain riders have been more successful than others on paper – like Giacomo Agostini or Angel Nieto – none have done what The Doctor did away from racing itself. “He was something else,” Lorenzo added. “He is incomparable.”
This time around though, it was largely due to injuries rather than changes within his environment like what happened with Yamaha’s technical switch-up midway through last decade. Regardless of why or how it happened though ,the lengthiness between each championship win remains undeniable when assessing where they rank amongst other all-timers within this sport’s history books.
Jorge Lorenzo on the MotoGP record Marc Marquez may never break
Marc Marquez’s former MotoGP rival and Honda teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, was asked in an interview with Diario AS whether his 2025 premier class campaign has proved that he is now the greatest racer on two wheels ever.
The three-time premier class champion replied, “Well, it’s undoubtedly a milestone that will further solidify his position as at least in the top three best riders in history, if not the best.
“There will always be those who say [Giacomo] Agostini has 15 [titles], and he’ll surely never surpass or equal him. But in terms of talent and speed, if we only focus on that – talent and speed – for me, he’s the strongest, fastest rider in history.
“I’ll leave it at that; with this title, he’d be a winner with two manufacturers. But if he were to win with a third, there would be no doubt.
“Those who doubted whether he’s the best in history wouldn’t have any grounds to argue.”
Lorenzo is one of just a few riders who have managed to finish ahead of Marquez over an entire season during their time together in MotoGP.
Lorenzo doesn’t take that lightly. In fact, he’s often pointed out that he’s the only rider to have beaten every member of the ‘Fantastic Five’ at some point during his career.
Marquez closing in on Agostini’s premier class record
With his 2025 title, Marquez moved level with Valentino Rossi’s nine world championships, seven of those coming in the premier class.
Despite the well-documented tension between them, Marquez called it “an honour” to match Rossi’s total. The respect doesn’t seem to go both ways though, and another title run for Marquez could push him even further past his old rival.
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The 32-year-old will head into the next season as a clear favourite after such a dominant first year with Ducati, and he’ll have his eye on matching Agostini’s record of eight premier class titles.
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