Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez says Dani Pedrosa is the MotoGP rider who has taught him the most. Despite his failure to win a premier-class title, he’s one of the most respected figures in the sport’s recent history.
The consensus is that Pedrosa was hampered by physical limitations, which is why he won titles in the lower classes but lost some of his edge on the fiercest bikes.
Pedrosa raced against Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner – some of the greatest riders in the sport’s history. Perhaps he was also a victim of his era in that respect.
Here, MotoGP News looks at the five best riders who haven’t won a premier-class title, based on their victory tallies.
Dani Pedrosa, 31 wins
Pedrosa is a three-time world champion having won the 125cc title in 2003 and back-to-back 250cc crowns immediately after. He stepped up to MotoGP in 2006 as a factory Honda rider and would remain with the team for his entire career.
What would you change in our Honda ranking?
He finished as the runner-up on three occasions, coming closest in 2012 when Lorenzo beat him by just 18 points. Pedrosa was also a contender at the 2013 finale but ultimately finished third, and teammate Marquez was too good for him thereafter.
Andrea Dovizioso, 15 wins
Lorenzo ranks ninth on the all-time wins leaderboard with more than double the victories of Andrea Dovizioso, the second inclusion on our list. Dovizioso won the 125cc title in 2004, but that remained his only Grand Prix championship.
Dovizioso was involved in a memorable rivalry with Marc Marquez that included several last-lap battles. He won the silver medal behind the Honda legend for three straight years, including a narrow 37-point defeat in 2017.
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Randy Mamola, 13 wins
Randy Mamola scored a podium in over a third of his 151 starts in the premier class (57). Agonisingly, he finished second in the championship on four separate occasions.
Legendary riders like Eddie Lawson, Kenny Roberts and Wayne Gardner had too much for Mamola in the end. Although, it’s worth remembering that an engine issue cost him in his battle with Roberts at the 1980 finale.
Max Biaggi, 13 wins
Max Biaggi ties with Mamola for third place. He had won four titles on the 250cc machines before he stepped up to the top tier.
The Italian witnessed the end of Mick Doohan’s dominance in the late 1990s – they finished one-two as teammates in ’98 – and the start of the Valentino Rossi era in the early noughties. Biaggi’s spectacular riding style inspired Lorenzo, who also became one of Rossi’s bitter rivals.
Who is the greatest rider never to win a MotoGP title?
Maverick Vinales, 10 wins
The only active rider on the list is Maverick Vinales, the 2013 Moto3 champion. Vinales is the only rider in the MotoGP era to win with three different manufacturers, and is now aiming to make it four with KTM.
Top Gun scored an invite to the MotoGP prizegiving ceremony in 2017 and 2019 after finishing third behind Marquez and Dovizioso. While inconsistency has perhaps been his undoing so far, Vinales is now working with Lorenzo in a bid to become a championship-level rider.
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