Marco Lucchinelli explains why Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez are the true champions of modern MotoGP: “They push others to go faster”.
Marco Lucchinelli, former champion of the 500 class, retraces some moments of his career and makes a comparison with contemporary MotoGP. The comparison that comes naturally is that between Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini. “I saw him as someone who transferred the passion for motorcycles to young people and who had a lot of power – he tells to ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’ -. In fact, I also hated him because … then he wasn’t kind to me, now it’s exactly the opposite”.
Six wins and thirteen podiums in the premier class, Lucchinelli might have deserved something more in his career. “I didn’t take advantage of the World Championships, because I was going strong like those who go fast today, which are Marquez and Valentino. I was going strong, I just liked parties, women, drinking …“. In the MotoGP of recent years, attention has always been focused on Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez, although currently absent for different reasons. They are the legends, the others a step lower even if in full climb.
But it’s hard to say who the real number one is. “I honestly don’t know who to choose. A good driver like Marquez or Valentino are the ones who make the others go fast. Because if you were someone like Marquez, who after four laps makes such a fast time, and the others have to work two days to do it, pushes them to go faster. Whoever wins the World Cup will win it, it is true that it would have been better to beat Marquez, but I would also like to win it without beating Marquez honestly.“.
Joan Mir seems to be the favorite, but with three races remaining in the MotoGP championship there are several candidates for the world title. In an unpredictable season, with repeated races on the same track every week, with temperatures below average, everything becomes uncertain. “At first I would have expected Dovizioso or Valentino. But from Misano it happened that if you want to win you can also fall, unfortunately. I think Valentino can race up to 50, because he has a talent that shows it and he is always fourth in the race. To win, however, you also have to win races, and this is the problem“.
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