Kevin Schwantz issues verdict on whether Marc Marquez or Valentino Rossi is MotoGP’s ‘all-time’ best

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Marc Marquez is on the verge of matching Valentino Rossi as a seven-time MotoGP champion after what Kevin Schwantz calls a “dominant” season by the Ducati rider.

The 2025 MotoGP riders’ title may now await Marquez at the Japanese Grand Prix next time out, when the premier class goes to Motegi on September 26-28. The 32-year-old only has to outscore his 29-year-old brother, Alex Marquez, by three points to claim the title in Japan.

Marc currently leads Alex in the battle of the Marquez brothers atop the riders’ standings by 182 points after the first 16 of this season’s 22 rounds. And he only has to leave Motegi with a lead of 185 points for the Japanese GP to produce the Spaniard’s first title as a Ducati pilot.

As the Japanese GP is now the earliest round Marc Marquez can win the 2025 MotoGP title, he cannot break the record that Rossi set for the earliest a title has been won. Rossi won the 2002 title after 12 of the 16 rounds (75%), while Marquez will need at least 17 of 22 (77.2%).

Kevin Schwantz thinks Marc Marquez has proven himself as MotoGP’s GOAT ahead of Valentino Rossi

The 2025 MotoGP season has been the year of Marquez, regardless of when the Ducati pilot wins this year’s title. Through 16 rounds, the Cervera native boasts 11 Grand Prix wins, eight poles, 14 podiums and 14 Sprint Race wins to close in on his first title since 2019 for Honda.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Marc Marquez from net worth to girlfriend

Ducati have also seen Marquez eclipse Giacomo Agostini’s premier class Grand Prix win total of 68, with the Spaniard now sitting on 73. Only Rossi with 89 has to date won more premier class Grands Prix than Marquez, as well as secured more podiums with 199 to his rival’s 125.

But Schwantz believes the way that Marquez has “dominated” the 2025 season after joining Ducati and after recovering from the right arm injury that threatened his career in 2020 has now proven that the Spaniard is truly the greatest MotoGP rider of all-time, ahead of Rossi.

Schwantz told AS: “To recover from the injury he had, and be as dominant as he has been this season, puts him right at the top of the list of all-time greats.”

Kevin Schwantz thinks Alex Marquez has ‘helped’ Marc Marquez ‘a lot’ after his injury

Marquez knows his MotoGP career could end with another big crash, after years of recovery from the right humerus injury he suffered in the 2020 season-opening Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. A violent trip through the gravel trap ultimately left Marquez needing four operations.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Valentino Rossi from stats to net worth

The fourth of Marquez’s operations even occurred in June 2022, two years after his crash at Jerez, as the Spaniard’s humerus had twisted by more than 30 degrees during his recovery. Marquez had also returned to win three Grands Prix with Honda in 2021 after missing 2020.

And Schwantz believes Marc Marquez having a brother like Alex Marquez, who he can lean on and train with, was a massive help in the Spaniard’s return to the top of MotoGP. But he also believes it took a huge amount of mental strength for Marc to get back to the very top.

Schwantz added: “Having a brother racing against you, someone you can ride with every day and who acts as a role model, instead of training alone, must have also helped him a lot.

“But to do what he did after 300 days, more than a year without riding a motorcycle, is very difficult to surpass. You have to work very hard. You have to get in shape physically, but also prepare mentally to go [at] 350km/h [217mph] again.

“And it’s never easy, especially when you’ve been doing this since you were a kid. You’ve worked to get to the top, and then you’ve had to take a break.”