Pecco Bagnaia This Sunday in Cheste, he became the 12+1 rider in history to renew his crown in the star category, the third in the MotoGP era, and replaced in this selective record the two famous riders he shared or shared with grid like Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez. He is also the first Ducati rider to revalidate his crown and since Mick Doohan no one has ever done it in 1.
1
Geoff Duke
The British rider (1923-2015), winner of four 500cc crowns, the first in 1951, did not make it for the first time in 1952 after Umberto Masetti replaced him on the list of winners – he was seventh in Norton -, but he did when he rode the Gilera and won three consecutive titles in 1953, 1954 and 1955.

2
John Surtees
The legendary British driver (1934-2017), 500cc and F1 champion, also missed his first defense of the title won in 1956 when Libero Liberati overtook him in 1957 – he was third – but then he chained three. crowns with MV Agusta in 1958, 1959 and 1960.

3
Mike Hailwood
The British ace (1941-1981) was the first rider to renew his 500cc crown, having won four in a row between 1962 and 1965 with MV Agusta and has now lost his fifth in a row in the hands of whoever replaces him as the next big star of the championship. , the legendary ‘Ago’ in his Honda jump.

4
Giacomo Agostini
The most successful rider in history (1942) was also successfully handed his first crown and the following since he was 500cc world champion seven times in a row between 1966 and 1972, always aboard MV Agusta. After finishing third in 1973, beaten by MV Agusta’s new signing, Phil Read, he switched to Yamaha in 1974 and would win the title in 1975 at the Briton’s expense. Then in 1976 the rising Barry Sheene would become the next champion.

5
Phil Read
The Briton (1939-2022) defended the 500cc crown achieved in 1973, which became the new benchmark for MV Agusta at the expense of champion Agostini, who ended up leaving the Italian firm and embracing Japanese Yamaha. In 1974 he had no rival to renew the crown and in 1975 he ran into ‘Ago’ and lost.

6
Barry Sheene
The last British world champion (1950-2003) and first champion with Suzuki led in 1976 in a big way and also renewed the crown in a big way in 1977, being the first to turn his back on the number 1 since he kept his mythical 7. In 1978 he lost the crown with ‘Marciano’ Kenny Roberts and the following year he left the official Suzuki team in the belief that he was receiving less cutting-edge material than his teammates team.

7
Kenny Roberts
The American ‘Martian’ (1951) was the first world champion to come from the other side of the Ocean with a new driving style that was later copied by everyone. He won three consecutive crowns in 1978, 1979 and 1980 with Yamaha, but in 1981 the Suzukis of Lucchinelli and Mamola relegated him to third place on the final podium.

8
Eddie Lawson
American (1958) did not renew the title after his first crown in 1984 (in 1985 Spencer won by 8 points) or after his second crown in 1986 (in 1987 Gardner and Mamola surpassed him), but added he won two titles in a row in 1988, still with Yamaha, and it was renewed the following year after being signed by Honda.

9
Wayne Rainey
The American (1960) won three consecutive 500cc titles in 1990, 1991 and 1992 and on the way to his fourth straight title he suffered a serious accident at Misano which left him permanently in a wheelchair. He finished runner-up, surpassing Schwantz in the classification.

10
Mick Doohan
The Australian (1965) won his five 500cc crowns in a row between 1994 and 1998 and had his streak cut short following a serious accident at Jerez in which he broke his right leg and his teammate took over in Repsol Honda’s Àlex Crivillé.

Eleven
Valentino Rossi
The ace from Tavullia (1979) has the honor of claiming the last crown in the history of 500cc (2001) and renewing his title in the next MotoGP season in 2002 and 2003 still with Honda and 2004 and 2005 with the Yamaha. The resolution of the 2006 crown was painful, losing by 5 points with Hayden in Cheste’s last race, which he entered as the leader. He would then chain titles in 2008 and 2009 and lose in 2010 with teammate Lorenzo and Pedrosa also passing him in the classification.

12
Marc Márquez
In 2013, El Tro de Cervera (1993) became the youngest world champion in MotoGP history and the following year he would renew his crown with one of the most successful campaigns ever, winning the first 10 races in a fast running. After losing the crown in 2015, the ‘Sepangate’ crown with Rossi, which went to Lorenzo, he kept the crown between 2016 and 2019 to give it in 2020 to Joan Mir due to a prolonged injury to his right arm.

13
Francesco Bagnaia
The native of Piedmont (1997) was the 12+1 rider in the star category to renew the crown and he did so after wearing the number 1 on the fairing of his Ducati. In 2022 he did it after a historic comeback from 91 points behind and in 2023, at the age of 26, after a tough fight – this time the comeback – with Jorge Martín.
Source: La Verdad

I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.