Marco Bezzecchi
Danilo Petrucci was unlucky enough to come up against five of the best riders in MotoGP history during his tenure in the premier class, and has recently recalled a Marc Marquez moment from the 2018 French Grand Prix that left him in awe of the Spaniard’s abilities.
Marc Marquez has developed an infamous reputation for teetering on the very limit of what his MotoGP prototype can afford to give him.
On one hand, it’s made him one of the most successful riders in MotoGP history, with Marquez’s most recent title feat putting him on par with Valentino Rossi in championship count.
However, on the other hand, it has also been the root cause of the darkest moments in the Spaniard’s illustrious career.
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The Ducati star suffered an injury nightmare at the start of the 2020s due to a persistent shoulder injury, and it took him over three years to find his feet in the premier class again.
While Marquez’s biggest weakness may be his on-the-limit racecraft, it has also produced some of the most extraordinary moments in the recent history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
Danilo Petrucci reveals how MotoGP legends impressed him during his career in the premier class
During a recent interview with Motosan, former MotoGP rider and current World Superbikes star Danilo Petrucci was asked to detail the most impressive moments he had witnessed first-hand during his tenure in the premier class.
The Italian spent 10 years as a full-time rider in MotoGP and raced during the sport’s ‘Fantastic Four’ period, a dominant group that included Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, and Marc Marquez.
Petrucci cited impressive moments from the riders listed above, while also detailing one moment from Marquez that left him awe-struck at the 2018 French Grand Prix.
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He said, “There have been several. Pedrosa, when he was in form: seeing such a small rider go so fast, with incredible technique. In Sepang, with the asphalt slippery even on foot, he did twenty laps feeling every millimetre of the track.
“Stoner at Phillip Island, with the front wheel lifting in every corner and him sliding all over the place. Valentino’s braking makes him very difficult to overtake under braking.
“And then there’s Marquez: once, his front end tucked in with a 20-meter slide on the front wheel, and then he recovered.
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“I was second at Le Mans in 2018. I had time to say ‘Olé, he’s crashed, I’m first’, and while I was saying it, he had already straightened up!”
Marquez went on to secure victory at the Bugatti Circuit that year, fending off Petrucci enough to take the chequered flag by just over two seconds.
2018 would prove to be the Spaniard’s fifth title-winning campaign after just six years in MotoGP, which thrust him into GOAT conversations alongside his arch-nemesis, Rossi.
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