Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez were teammates at Honda during the 2019 season. On paper, it was one of the strongest line-ups the sport had ever seen, but this wasn’t the prime version of Lorenzo.
While Marquez won the title in record-breaking fashion, Lorenzo scrapped for the minor points places. He missed four races in the middle of the season after fracturing his vertebrae in an Assen crash.
This heavily influenced his decision to retire when the season ended at the age of 32. Lorenzo thinks he could have won another title during Marquez’s subsequent injury absence, but his results in his last three seasons raise doubts.
Do you agree with Jorge Lorenzo’s take on modern MotoGP?
Even before his ill-fated move to Honda, Lorenzo had been outclassed by Andrea Dovizioso on the Ducati in 2017 and 2018.
Jorge Lorenzo says Marc Marquez can’t defy ageing
Marquez is the same age as Lorenzo was when he retired, and he will turn 33 next month. He looked as strong as ever last season, winning 11 out of 18 races and 14 Sprints.
While Marquez missed the end of the year through injury, he’s expected to be fully fit for the start of pre-season testing.
Speaking on El Larguero, Lorenzo warned that Marquez will ‘eventually’ start to drop off, even if it’s not imminent. A rider like Pedro Acosta could be his symbolic successor.
Marquez is the second-oldest rider on the grid behind LCR’s Johann Zarco (35), while Tech3’s Maverick Vinales and VR46’s Franco Morbidelli are both 31.
“As I always say, even the greatest athletes eventually see a decline in their performance,” Lorenzo said. “It happened to everyone: Federer and Nadal in tennis, Jordan in basketball, Maradona, Pele in football, Muhammad Ali, all the greats eventually experience a decline.
“Marc Marquez is already 32 or 33 years old. Maverick is 31. Pedro Acosta is 21. In terms of age, logically, Acosta has more potential to improve than both of those riders.”
What has Marc Marquez said about retiring from MotoGP?
In an interview released last December, Marquez said he would retire when he’s no longer a top rider.
When do you think Marc Marquez will retire from MotoGP?
He’s arguably been the fastest rider in MotoGP since he made his debut in 2013, but he knows his reign won’t last forever.
Marquez is gunning for his eighth premier-class title this year, which would see him overtake Valentino Rossi and match Giacomo Agostini’s all-time record.
Agostini’s benchmark of 15 Grand Prix titles is almost certainly beyond his reach, but Marquez isn’t going to set such a target. He’s motivated by winning in general rather than one particular achievement.
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