Fabio Quartararo believes Marc Marquez is the best rider in MotoGP history, surpassing his hero Valentino Rossi. Quartararo made his premier-class debut in 2019 and had the opportunity to race alongside seven-time champion Rossi in the latter stages of his career. In actuality, the Frenchman won his first title in 2021 after being moved to the factory Yamaha team in place of Rossi, who joined the satellite Petronas SRT squad in a direct exchange between the two riders.

Rossi retired from MotoGP at the end of that year, although he remains linked in the series through his ownership of the VR46 team, which uses Ducati machinery on a satellite basis. Rossi switched to car racing after retiring from MotoGP.

In a recent interview, Quartararo expressed his admiration for his childhood hero Rossi and fondly recalls their time together before he made his big break in grand prix racing. My idol was always Valentino. My relationship with him was in stages. When I was seven years old, I had my photo taken. Later, when I was 15, he invited me to his ranch. And in 2021 we swapped places in MotoGP, he said.

At that time the pressure was enormous because I had to take the place of the king. In my case, I have more people who inspire me, but since I was five years old, my idol has been him. However, Quartararo rates six-time champion Marquez ahead of Rossi in the list of the series’ all-time greats, as he praised the Spaniard for his versatility and riding style.

I always liked Valentino, but Marc is the best, even if he has won fewer titles. In 2014, when he made his debut, he won the first ten races of the year and I thought, who is this guy? And on top of it all, you put him in wet races, dry races, windy races, in good conditions or the worst, and he is always very fast, the 25-year-old rider expressed.

For me, he is the best example of what he is like as a rider. He is quite aggressive, and when you watch him riding, he appears to be a second and a half quicker than you. Marquez will join Ducati’s factory team next year, teaming up with two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia, while Quartararo will stay with Yamaha until 2026 after signing a new two-year deal in the summer.