Rookie Marc Marquez took third place in the final race of the 2013 MotoGP world championship in Valencia, finishing behind Dani Pedrosa and closest championship rival Jorge Lorenzo. By finishing third Marquez took the Championship title by just four points. Marquez is the youngest rider ever to win the premier class world title in MotoGP and the first rookie to win in 35 years, Kenny Roberts was the last rider to achieve this. So the rookie from Cervera, Spain scrapes his elbow into the record books with likes of Freddie Spencer and Kenny Roberts.
Here’s a list of the records Marquez has smashed his way into, all 24 of them:-
Records for the 2013 season
– Marquez is the first rookie to win the premier class world title since Kenny Roberts became 500 World Champion in 1978
– At the age of 20 years and 266 days Marquez is the youngest rider to win the premier class world title, taking the record from Freddie Spencer who was 21 years and 258 days of age when he won the 500 title in 1983, also riding a Honda
– Marquez is just the fourth rider in the 65-year history of Grand Prix racing to win world titles in three different categories, along with: Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and Valentino Rossi
2013 records en route to the title
– At the opening race of the year in Qatar, Marquez became the fourth youngest rider of all-time to finish on the podium in the premier class of Grand Prix racing, after Randy Mamola, Eduardo Salatino and Norick Abe
– At the first race of the year, Marquez set a new record for being the youngest rider ever to take the fastest lap of the race in the premier class, at the age of 20 years and 49 days. The previous record holder was Freddie Spencer, who was 20 years and 161 days old when he had his first race fastest lap in the 500 class at Misano in 1982
– His win at the Grand Prix of the Americas, at the age of just 20 years and 63 days, made him the youngest ever rider to win a premier class Grand Prix, taking the record from Freddie Spencer who was 20 years and 196 days old when he won the Belgian 500 GP at Spa-Francorchamps in 1982
– Qualifying on pole position in Austin, at the age of 20 years and 62 days, made Marquez the youngest ever rider to qualify on pole in the premier class, taking the record from Freddie Spencer who was 20 years and 153 days old when he qualified on pole for the first time in the 500 class at Jarama in 1982
– The victory in Austin also made Marquez the youngest ever rider in the 65-year history of World Championship Grand Prix racing to have won in three different classes, taking the record from his teammate Dani Pedrosa who achieved this at the age of 20 years and 227 days when he won in China in 2006
– Marquez is the first rider to have won on either their first or second start in the premier class for 15 years, since Max Biaggi won on his 500 debut at Suzuka in 1998
– He is the first rider since Jorge Lorenzo in 2008 to finish on the podium in his first two races in the premier class
– After podium finishes at the first two races, Marquez had joint leadership of the Riders’ Championship with Jorge Lorenzo and is the youngest rider ever to lead the premier class standings, taking the record from Jorge Lorenzo who headed the championship after winning at Estoril in 2008, at the age of 20 years and 345 days
– The win in Austin also gave Marquez the record of being the youngest ever rider to take back-to-back podium finishes in the premier class, taking the record from Randy Mamola who finished on the podium in Spain and then France in 1980, at the age of 20 years and 197 days.
– At the Spanish Grand Prix, Marc Marquez – at the age of 20 years and 77 days – became the youngest rider to finish on the podium at three successive premier class GP races, taking the record from Jorge Lorenzo who was 20 years and 345 days old when he has his third successive podium in 2008
– At the French Grand Prix, he became only the second rider to finish on the podium in his first four races in the premier class; the other rider to have achieved this was Max Biaggi in 1998
– The victories by Marc Marquez at the Sachsenring and Laguna Seca give him the record of the youngest rider of all-time to win back-to-back races in the premier class of Grand Prix racing, at the age of 20 years and 154 days, taking the record from Freddie Spencer who was 21 years and 104 days old when he won in South Africa and France in 1983, riding a Honda
– His wins at the Sachsenring and Laguna Seca also made Marquez the first rookie in the premier class to win back-to-back races since Kenny Roberts, in Austria and France in 1978
– His win at Indianapolis made Marquez only the second ever rookie in the premier class to win three successive GP races; the other is Kenny Roberts, who won in Austria, France and Italy in 1978
– The victories by Marquez at the Sachsenring, Laguna Seca and Indianapolis give him the record of the youngest rider of all-time to win three successive races in the premier class of Grand Prix racing at the age of 20 years and 182 days, taking the record from Freddie Spencer who was 21 years and 125 days old when he won in South Africa, France and Italy in 1983
– His win at the Czech GP gave Marquez the record of being the first rookie ever in the premier class to win four successive GP races
– His win at MotorLand Aragon was the sixth win of the year – the greatest number of wins ever in the premier class by a rookie rider
– The victories by Marc Marquez at the Sachsenring, Laguna Seca, Indianapolis and Brno give him the record of the youngest rider of all-time to win four successive races in the premier class of Grand Prix racing, at the age of 20 years and 189 days – a record previously held since 1962, set by Mike Hailwood at the age of 22 years and 139 days
– Marquez has finished in the top three 16 times in 2013 – the greatest number of podium finishes ever by a rookie in the premier class
– He has qualified on pole position nine times in 2013 – the greatest number of pole positions ever by a rookie in the premier class.
– His points’ total of 334 is the greatest number of points ever achieved during a rookie season in the premier class
That’s the champion of 2013, but we have to say something about his rival, Jorge Lorenzo, who has dominated the last few races of the championship and closed and hefty points deficit down to a four point loss. If the championship results are anything to go by, then we are looking at some seriously close racing next year between the new world champion and the previous world champion. Jorge Lorenzo, we salute you.
