Fabio Quartararo has insisted Marc Marquez is the best rider in MotoGP history over childhood hero Valentino Rossi.
Quartararo made his premier class debut in 2019 and was fortunate enough to share the track with seven-time champion Rossi during the twilight years of the Italian’s career. In fact, the Frenchman won his maiden title in 2021 after being promoted to the factory Yamaha team in place of Rossi, who switched to the satellite Petronas SRT squad in a direct swap between the two riders.
Rossi went on to retire from MotoGP at the end of that year but continues to remain involved in the series through his ownership of VR46 team, which runs Ducati machinery on a satellite basis.
In an interview with jewellery brand TwoJeys, Quartararo didn’t hide his admiration for his childhood hero Rossi and fondly remembers the time the two spent together before he made his big break in grand prix racing.
“My idol was always Valentino,” he said. “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].
“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 ever, even if he has won fewer titles,” he said. “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 is that you put him in wet races, dry races, windy races, in good conditions or the worst, and he is always very fast.
“For me, he is the example that best describes what he is like as a rider. He is very aggressive, and when you see him riding it looks like he is a second and a half faster than you.”
Marquez will step up to the factory Ducati outfit next year to partner two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia, while Quartararo will remain with Yamaha until 2026 after signing a fresh two-year deal in the summer deal.
Rossi, meanwhile, switched to car racing after his retirement from MotoGP and currently competes in both the World Endurance Championship and GT World Challenge Europe in a BMW M4 GT3. His VR46 squad is poised to receive one factory-spec Ducati GP25 bike, which is set to be ridden by Fabio di Giannantonio in MotoGP next year.
