PEDROSA CALLS MARQUEZ A “BEAST” IN ONE-WORD RIVALRY RECAP

Dani Pedrosa has summed up four of MotoGP’s defining riders in a word apiece, including former Honda teammate Marc Marquez, whom he called “a beast.”

DAZN put the question to Pedrosa during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, asking him to describe the riders who, alongside him, made up the era’s so-called “Fantastic Five”: Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Marquez. Pedrosa’s other choices were equally concise: Lorenzo was “very determined,” Rossi was “an artist” and Stoner was “a magician.”

The group’s record underlines their influence. From the start of the MotoGP era in 2002 through the end of the 2010s, they claimed all but one premier-class championship, with Nicky Hayden’s 2006 title the sole exception. Together, they won 248 of 315 races—just under 80 per cent.

Pedrosa shared a Honda garage with both Stoner and Marquez, and faced each as a title rival. Stoner beat him to the 2011 crown, while Marquez finished ahead of him in five championship campaigns between 2013 and Pedrosa’s retirement in 2018. Pedrosa is widely regarded as one of the greatest riders never to win the premier-class title.

His rivalry with fellow Spaniard Lorenzo was among MotoGP’s fiercest, though their relationship later gained a measure of common ground. Pedrosa has said that Stoner’s arrival eased the tension between them by giving them a shared rival.

Marquez, meanwhile, has argued that Pedrosa’s slight build and the physical limitations associated with it kept him from achieving the success his ability warranted. He has also said some world champions had only “half” the talent of his former teammate.