Ex-MotoGP rider from Italy picks Marc Marquez above Valentino Rossi

A former MotoGP rider who raced against some of the sport’s biggest names has weighed in on the long-running debate: who is the greatest - Valentino Rossi or Marc Marquez?

The mid-2000s to the mid-2010s are widely regarded as a golden era for MotoGP. It was a time when legends clashed and rising stars emerged.

Valentino Rossi had already cemented himself as the benchmark, dominating during the transition from the 500cc class to MotoGP in the early 2000s. He was soon joined by a generation of elite talents: Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, and Andrea Dovizioso.

This group of four—Rossi, Stoner, Pedrosa, and Lorenzo—earned the nickname “The Four Aliens” for their extraordinary dominance and consistent battles at the front. But when Stoner retired at the end of 2012, it seemed the era had come to a close. Then came Marc Marquez.

In 2013, a young Marc Marquez burst onto the scene and immediately made his mark. Winning the championship in his rookie season against the likes of Rossi, Pedrosa, and Lorenzo, Marquez quickly joined the ranks of the sport’s elite. His aggressive riding style and fearless overtakes redefined the limits of modern MotoGP.

That same season also saw Andrea Iannone make his debut in the premier class with Pramac Ducati. Sharing the grid with icons of the sport, Iannone had a front-row seat to one of the most competitive eras in MotoGP history.

In a recent interview with Italian outlet Motosprint, Iannone reflected on his time in MotoGP and offered honest opinions about his former rivals.

"Daniel Pedrosa was faster than Andrea Dovizioso in my opinion” he began.

“While there can be no comparison between Pedrosa and Bagnaia because they are two generations, too different from each other.

“Between Lorenzo and Stoner I say Lorenzo, while in comparison with Rossi, I choose Rossi.

“Between Marquez and Rossi? Marquez.”

Andrea Iannone admits his dislikes for a MotoGP rival

Iannone’s time in MotoGP saw flashes of brilliance and controversy. After two years with Pramac, he was promoted to the factory Ducati team in 2015. His partnership with Dovizioso, however, was tense and ultimately short-lived. Following the Argentina incident, the relationship soured, and Iannone left Ducati at the end of 2016.

He moved to Suzuki for the 2017–2018 seasons and later joined Aprilia in 2019. But his career came to an abrupt halt after testing positive for Drostanolone, an anabolic steroid.

Iannone claimed the substance had been ingested accidentally through contaminated meat in Malaysia, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the World Anti-Doping Agency upheld a four-year ban, ending his racing career in 2020.

When asked about his personal relationships in the paddock, Iannone revealed that while he was generally neutral, one rivalry stood out.

"I have never had dislikes towards my opponents on the track, I have always been one who has minded his own business. I usually train alone while in recent years the tendency to be in a group even among colleagues has arisen. Sometimes I have been to Valentino Rossi's ranch. I have a good relationship with him, but in any case I have always had a good relationship with everyone,” Iannone revealed.

“Maybe it's me who doesn't like someone, like Andrea Dovizioso probably, following the accident in Argentina, when he hit him, even if on that occasion he braked earlier than he should, the telemetry data showed it."

After five years away, Iannone made a surprise return to the MotoGP paddock in 2024—ironically at the Malaysian Grand Prix, the same venue as his last race before the ban. He stepped in as a replacement for the injured Fabio Di Giannantonio at VR46 Racing Team, owned by Rossi. Iannone finished 17th but marked the occasion as a personal triumph.