#MotoGP75: the Champions!
The deeper dive into 75 years of racing starts with some of the biggest names in the sport: the Champions
Thursday, 25 January 2024
As we celebrate the 75 years of competition that have brought us to 2024, we’re taking a deeper dive into some of the facts and stats – starting with some of the biggest names in the sport! Check them out, and head to our all-new 75th anniversary page to enjoy some of the best content from then and now, with plenty more to be added throughout the season.
ALL CLASSES
126 Champions
126 riders have won Championships. 56 have more than one, leaving 70 riders with one Grand Prix motorcycle racing Championship to their name – in some cases, so far, as they include a number of familiar names from the current grid.
Champions with the most titles
Giacomo Agostini leads with 15: 8 in the premier class and 7 in the 350cc category. Next up it’s Angel Nieto with 12+1 titles – 7x125cc and 6x50cc – before 3 riders who have 9 titles each: Carlo Ubbiali (6x125cc, 3x250cc), Mike Hailwood (4x500cc, 2x350cc, 3x250cc) and Valentino Rossi (7x500cc/MotoGP™, 1x250cc, 1x125cc).
The only current rider able to join that club soon is Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who has 8: 6xMotoGP™, 1xMoto2™ and 1x125cc. After all the former riders who have 7, 6, 5 or 4 titles each, the next current competitor with most titles overall is reigning MotoGP™ World Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who has 3: 2xMotoGP™ and 1xMoto2™
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Championship Streaks
One rider holds the overall record: Giacomo Agostini, with 7 titles in a row in the 500cc class from 1966 to 1972, and 7 in a row in the 350cc class from 1968 to 1974.
PREMIER CLASS
Champions with the most premier class titles
Looking at the premier class only, the rider with the most doesn’t change – it’s Giacomo Agostini (8). Then it’s Valentino Rossi with 7, ahead of Marc Marquez on 6 – putting the number 93 in reach of another piece of history.
The only rider with 5 premier class crowns is Mick Doohan, and 4 have 4: Mike Hailwood, John Surtees, Geoff Duke and Eddie Lawson.
Some riders have only won titles in the premier class. Those with the most are Mick Doohan (5), Eddie Lawson (4), Wayne Rainey (3) and Kenny Roberts (3).
Championship Streaks: premier class
Pecco Bagnaia became only the third rider in the MotoGP™ era to defend the crown when he did so in 2023. The others are Valentino Rossi, who won from 2002 to 2005 (adding to his maiden premier class 500cc crown in 2001), and then again in 2008 and 2009, and Marc Marquez – he reigned 2013 and 2014, and then from 2016 to 2019.
Over 75 years of premier class history, Giacomo Agostini leads the way with the longest winning streak: those 7 premier class titles we mentioned above.
There are two riders in second on the list of most premier class crowns in a row, with 5 each: Valentino Rossi from 2001 to 2005, and Mick Doohan from 1994 to 1998. Completing the top five, there are two riders who have four in a row: Marc Marquez (2016 to 2019) and Mike Hailwood (1962 to 1965).
HISTORY ON THE LINE
As the most decorated rider on the grid as it stands, there’s history on the line for Marc Marquez this year. He could:
– Join Carlo Ubbiali, Mike Hailwood and Valentino Rossi as a nine-time Champion
– Equal Valentino Rossi in second on the list of riders with most premier class titles
– Become the first rider with an Independent Team to win the crown in the MotoGP™ era
– Join only Valentino Rossi (Honda – Yamaha) and Casey Stoner (Ducati – Honda) as riders who have won Championships in the MotoGP™ era with more than one manufacturer
Join us for the Sepang Shakedown to see our first glimpse of 2024 before we see Marc Marquez start his new adventure, in new colours, at the Sepang Test from the 6th to the 8th of February. And then it’s one more test before we start a record-breaking 2024 calendar!
