Marco Bezzecchi
MotoGP legend Giacomo Agostini claims that ‘everyone loves’ Marc Marquez. The Ducati rider has just sealed his seventh top-level title after a dominant season.
While Jorge Lorenzo says Marquez will never break Agostini’s record of 15 Grand Prix titles, the Ant of Cervera only needs one more to tie him in the premier class. He enters next year as the heavy favourite despite suffering a season-ending injury.
“Records are made to be broken,” Agostini said in an interview with AFP. Marquez has already equalled his nemesis Valentino Rossi.
Rider #93 was booed in Mugello earlier this year, while his crash in the Misano Sprint was cheered by some fans. That highlights the lasting impact of his bitter rivalry with Rossi, but Marquez has earned broad appreciation by battling back from four arm surgeries to become champion again.
Marc Marquez praised by Giacomo Agostini for giving up Honda earnings
Agostini commended Marquez for the spirit he showed during those injury-ravaged years. Even though he’d already lifted the championship trophy six times, his ‘drive for victories’ was as great as ever.
Part of the process of getting back to the top was leaving the underperforming Honda team and joining Ducati satellite Gresini. It’s said that Marquez gave up an enormously lucrative contract when he made the move.
Agostini says Marquez ‘evokes emotions’, and these kinds of athletes transcend their sport.
“I’m happy, but well, records are made to be broken after all,” Agostini said of his eight-title benchmark. “Valentino came close but didn’t make it. Marquez is still young, maybe he’ll achieve it, or maybe not.”
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“After an accident, it’s difficult, but he worked hard, he never thought it was over, and it’s very important to have the strength to continue and the desire to win. He has the drive for victories; he wants to win like all great riders.
“I admire him because he evokes emotions on the track. Everyone loves this kind of person who does things that many don’t, no matter the sport.
“He had the strength to leave Honda, which is the biggest brand in the world. It’s not easy to leave a brand like Honda to go to Ducati. But he told himself, ‘I want to win’, and to win, you need a bike that gives you the possibility. He broke a millionaire contract to join a private team, it’s admirable.”
Giacomo Agostini names the three MotoGP legends he’d love to race against
In a separate interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Agostini was asked to name three riders from any era that he’d like to battle on track. He picked Marquez, Rossi and one of his contemporaries, Kenny Roberts.
Agostini won all of his titles between 1966 and 1975, while Roberts’ heyday was at the end of the ’70s. The American won three 500cc world championships on the bounce.
He said: “It would be nice to have a race, but Agostini, Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Kenny Roberts… well, it would be wonderful to see them all together, but of course, it’s impossible.
“Even so, I think it would always be nice for them too, always a great joy for everyone, even if it can only happen in a dream.”
Previously, Agostini left Marquez off his dream MotoGP grid, but his respect for the 2013 debutant is obvious. They swapped places in the all-time victory list earlier this year (Marquez now has 73, five more than Agostini).
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