© Bruce Allen
Discussions of who is the greatest whatever of all time are usually tiresome affairs, made up of people who possess one or two indelible facts or impressions they then use to bludgeon any other arguments to pieces. This fruitless argument becomes more fruitless each year, as records and riders extend back to bygone eras where virtually nothing was the same as it is now, as regards machinery. It’s not just moto racing, it’s any sport.
It’s the usual problem with “of all time” comparisons. The historical context is everything. We humans, with our small brains and limited attention spans, both of which are generally focused on sex, don’t have the bandwidth to try to fully understand the competitive conditions extant, say, in the 1960s and 1970s when Giacamo Agostini was winning titles, lapping the field.
We have a hard time getting fully engorged by Angel Nieto, who won all those titles, mostly in the 70’s, on 80cc and 125cc bikes. We look at Rossi with his nine, seven in the premier class, and shake our heads, certain it would have been higher had he not reigned during the nascence of The Alien Class of riders, any number of whom will have their own claim to Hall of Fame stature in the years to come. Stoner. Lorenzo. Marquez.
Inevitably, we run into old school types like Matt Oxley or Kevin Schwantz who criticize the electronics in today’s bikes, making them sound like video games, over-powered and over-engineered pocket rockets that can practically ride themselves. This, I believe, is where the “of all time” argument gets complicated. I believe the video game aspect of today’s bikes is an extra layer of difficulty the riders from the 20th century didn’t have to deal with.
Here’s what I think. I think Marc Marquez, arguably the best rider of the current decade, could adjust to the bikes going back to the 1970s with little trouble , especially given his dirt-track riding style. The idea of taking a Wayne Rainey or a Mick Doohan out there, putting them on a 2018 MotoGP bike and saying, “Take it away!” is laughable. They wouldn’t be able to get out of pit lane. I think Marquez, on the other hand, is strong enough to enjoy racing the 500cc two-strokes.
There. In order to discuss the greatest of all time in MotoGP, you have to examine the context. In order to level the playing field, one must account for the difference in the machinery, which can only be done by some crude indexing. For instance, whereas Giacomo Agostini rated 98% on the 350cc MotoGP bike, he would rate only, say, 40% on today’s Yamaha M1. Rossi or Marquez, on the other hand, are up in the 90’s on the MotoGP bike and could get well up into the 80’s in a day or two on the 350.
Marquez has the fundamental, intuitive balance and reflexes of a great rider. He also has the full array of video game skills and a powerful frame. He is the complete package.
Given the genesis of MotoGP, the impossible speeds and lean angles and the increasingly complicated electronics, I would vote for Marquez, presuming his career maintains its current arc, as the GOAT. If he can win three or four more titles in the next five years, he will be The Man. He’s facing the same problem Rossi faced starting in 2010–a new generation of riders. Maverick Vinales. Johann Zarco. Alex Rins. A rejuvenated Andrea Dovizioso. A bunch of fast movers in Moto2 anxious for factory rides in MotoGP beginning next year. Names like Bagnaia, Baldassarri, Mir and Fenati.
To me, it feels like we’re watching something special during what will be referred to as The Marquez Years. I pray it ends someday in triumph, on his terms, fully intact and ready for the next phase in his remarkable story.
Tags: Andrea Dovizioso, Dani Pedrosa, Ducati, Grand Prix of Argentina, Honda, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, maverick vinales, valentino rossi, Yamaha
Late-Braking MotoGP 
April 6, 2018 at 12:10 pm |
I’m not the Marquez fan you are, but it’s hard to argue that he hasn’t been the best rider of the last decade. Still he’s going to need those 3 or 4 more titles to qualify as GOAT. We’ll see. I’m not crossing my fingers as you are, but can’t argue with results, which so far he has earned. That picture of Marquez and his paramour Lorenzo is classic, would love a final race where they weren’t seemingly in league. Marquez would have won last year no matter what Lorenzo did, but he sure seemed to run interference for Marquez anyway.
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April 8, 2018 at 12:19 am |
“There. In order to discuss the greatest of all time in MotoGP, you have to examine the context. In order to level the playing field, one must account for the difference in the machinery, which can only be done by some crude indexing.”
Oh Bruce, why settle for crude indexing? Valley’s Grand Prix championships span six classes if I’m counting correctly. He’s the GOAT. Marky Marc may get there some day, but he’s not there yet.
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April 18, 2018 at 1:35 am |
Alright get this the greatest of all time is Valentino Rossi no way around it. If he won in 2015 he would have tied agostini record of motogp championship. He has most motogp podiums, race starts , race wins , proven in three different bikes . No one will repeat his legacy he writes history each race he participates . Marcmarquez has long way to go to reach the doctor level
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April 18, 2018 at 5:13 am |
Let’s talk again in ten years or so.
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April 18, 2018 at 11:41 am |
In ten years time this will be Marc Márquez age 25 plus 10 will be 35 by then Rossi records would still be impossible to break.
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April 19, 2018 at 12:37 am |
It’s not even Márquez years remember he helped fellow Spanish Jorge Lorenzo win 2015 championship . In the next few years there will be only one Valentino Rossi
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