Marc Marquez can beat my all-time record, we must not boo him

Marc Marquez has received backing from a legend to break the record for 500cc world championships.

Giacomo Agostini’s 15 titles overall - and his eight in the top class - are the most-ever.

Valentino Rossi is second with seven 500cc titles but Marquez is half-way to matching that tally this season.

Arguably in the greatest form of his career, Marquez will already be eyeing an eighth championship in 2026.

Marc Marquez “is capable of beating even my world championship record,” Agostini told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Marc is a great man and he deserves everything. We must bow to him, not boo him.”

Sections of the crowd at the Italian MotoGP - the home of Marquez’s manufacturer Ducati, but also his enemy Rossi - booed him after he won the grand prix this year.

That led Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi to demand they stopped. He even wished for Marquez and Rossi to shake hands to create peace.

Agostini does not want that animosity to overshadow Marquez’s brilliance, and his comeback from an injury-plagued spell on an uncompetitive Honda.

“He went through difficult moments, from which it was not obvious to get out,” said Agostini.

“And because in order to start winning again he gave up Honda's money, to go to a private team, moreover.”

'If you want to win, you have to have the Ducati'

Italy’s Agostini won his 15 championships in the 1960s and 1970s, most notably riding an MV Agusta but also a Yamaha.

Yamaha are slowly improving their performance after years in the doldrums since Fabio Quartararo’s 2021 title.

"Yes, it's their method: they are reflective,” Agostini said.

“They prefer to think about things one more day."

But the legendary Italian is under no illusions which bike he’d want if he was racing today.

"If you want to win you have to have the Ducati,” he said.

“Even though I'm a Yamaha man and I know that Yamaha is doing good things.

“And when the regulations change, the rider will have more value, it will be his skill that wins, not the help of all those buttons that they press now.

“But, of course, if the MV came back I would be with the MV..."