One of the rivalries that marked modern MotoGP history was between Marc Márquez and Valentino Rossi. There were several moments and fierce battles on the track, with the most infamous being all the controversy at the 2015 Malaysian GP that definitively drove them apart.
Despite everything, the Gresini Spanish rider assured in a DAZN documentary that he still sees Il Dottore as a great reference: ‘Valentino is a reference for any starting rider. He was one of my references, along with Dani Pedrosa. Dani because he was a young rider in the lower categories whom you looked up to, and Valentino because he was winning in MotoGP. I was lucky to face him and also lucky to beat him, the unlucky part is that he beat me in one year and in some races. I was lucky to share the track and learn from him. Those were very beautiful years. Valentino was and continues to be a reference for anyone. Everything he achieved in his sporting career, with nine world titles’.
Regarding a possible reconciliation with Rossi off the track, Márquez said he doesn’t have an answer: ‘It doesn’t depend on me, so I can’t answer’.
Outside of MotoGP, the #93 revealed having a reference in Formula 1: ‘When I was 10, 15 years old, when I was sitting on the couch at home with my parents, we supported Fernando Alonso because he was the one who led the Formula 1 boom in Spain. And he was the one who reignited that flame as well. For me, Fernando is a reference, not just on the track because of his talent, but what impresses me the most is this second version because it’s super difficult to come back to a sport and continue to be at the forefront’.