Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Lorenzo was Marc Marquez’s teammate during the most dominant season of his MotoGP career. 2019 is often regarded as Marquez’s peak year.
The Ant of Cervera won 12 out of 19 races and finished on the podium at all but one event. He scored 420 points, with closest competitor Andrea Dovizioso posting 269.
Meanwhile, Lorenzo placed 19th in the championship and didn’t manage a single top-10 finish. Regrettably, the most memorable moment of his year came at the Dutch GP, when he fractured his vertebrae in a crash.
Marc Marquez, 2019 – the greatest motorcycle racing season ever?
Lorenzo, who had replaced Dani Pedrosa, wanted to become the first rider to win the MotoGP title for three different manufacturers after his earlier success at Yamaha and Ducati. But he gave up on that dream when he retired at the end of the season.
Jorge Lorenzo explains why Marc Marquez thrashed him in 2019
In an interview with GPOne earlier this year, Lorenzo revisited 2019. He explained that he was never at 100% fitness due to persistent injury issues.
Based on his initial testing, he thinks he would have had more success on the 2018 bike. But he ‘immediately’ realised the 2019 machine was a step in the wrong direction.
Marquez, who had dictated Honda’s development direction, was able to dominate the championship on the ‘tractor’. Lorenzo is reluctant to make too many excuses.
Lorenzo’s verdict on the Marquez vs Rossi debate
“Well, I was never 100% because I had so many injuries – in my wrist, in my ribs, so I rode the Honda at 100% and that doesn’t help,” he said. “I had much less experience than Marc because Marc had been on the Honda since 2013, they had made the bike especially for him.
“When I arrived at the first test, the 2018 wasn’t bad, I liked it. They let me use the 2019 and I immediately said that that bike wasn’t going well, it was worse in the corners.
“But Marc managed, as always, to go fast with a tractor. After this season, it was certainly the most successful season of his career. So what can you say if the other guy is a second and a half faster than you?”
How Marc Marquez’s 2025 season compares to 2019
Marquez won 11 of the 18 events he started in 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury at the Indonesian GP. That equates to a win percentage of 61.1%, marginally lower than his 2019 record (63.2%).
Had he stayed fit, then there’s a strong chance he would have beaten that benchmark. But statistically, 2019 remains his best year.
What about the intangibles? Marquez says he’s lost some ‘explosiveness’ since his last title win for Honda.
And Ducati’s Davide Tardozzi thinks Marquez is no longer as ‘fast’, but has become more complete. He now has a better awareness of when to take risks.
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