Marc Marquez sets firm sights on Valentino Rossi’s MotoGP record

Marc Marquez has a MotoGP record belonging to Valentino Rossi in his sights.

He inched closer to matching his big rival’s record at the British MotoGP, and can creep closer still this weekend at Aragon.

Rossi has nine world championships in total, and Marquez has been stuck on eight since 2019.

But he tops the MotoGP standings after seven out of 22 rounds.

Marquez admitted to BBC: "Of course nine is a number that I would like to achieve because it is the next number in my career and we will try.

"And it is true it would equal Valentino Rossi in championships."

Giacomo Agostini's 15 titles is the most-ever in grand prix racing. Angel Nieto has 13, then Rossi, Carlo Ubbiali and Mike Hailwood have nine each.

Marc Marquez targets Valentino Rossi MotoGP record

Seven of Rossi’s world titles were in the premier class, whereas six of Marquez’s are.

There are other Rossi records which could fall to Marquez, too.

His excellence on the factory Ducati this year means he is the red-hot favourite for a ninth world title, and could then target a 10th in 2026.

Rossi’s 89 race wins could eventually be in trouble too depending how long Marquez races on for. He has 65 race wins so far.

Marquez has seen off a previous era of racers while setting trends which the newer generation have copied.

"When I arrived in MotoGP I was fighting against big names - Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa, Valentino Rossi,” he said.

“The main difference when I arrived in MotoGP to now is that now I am fighting against the younger talents that arrive from Moto2 and they are super competitive.

"I introduced the elbow and a new riding style and now when the younger riders arrive, they introduce another thing so I need to adapt.

"I think more about the safety and I try to calculate more the risks - at one of the strongest and weakest points of my career it was difficult to see the risk.

"Ten years ago, I was like 'my body is just for riding a bike, I don't care - I am fit and I will recover', but now I understand that recovering from some injuries are super difficult."

Marquez, who overcame career-threatening physical problems that he sustained in 2020, sits 24 points clear of his brother Alex Marquez at the top of the championship.

The brothers are back on home soil at Aragon this weekend where Marc Marquez will hope the recent difficulties with his Ducati GP25 do not rear their ugly head again.