Jorge Martin, the new oldest champion

In Barcelona, Jorge Martin became the oldest MotoGP world champion since the start of the modern era of Grand Prix racing.

Published 28/12/2024 à 18:26

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At the end of his final clash with Pecco Bagnaia in Barcelona, Jorge Martin became world champion of MotoGP for the first time. Aged 26 years and 293 days, he is the oldest rider to win his first MotoGP world title since the start of the new Grand Prix era in 2002.

Before him, Pecco Bagnaia had seized this statistic, at the end of the 2022 season. Faced with fabio quartararo, the Italian had lifted his first world crown at the age of 25 years and 296 days.

This date also put an end to a long succession of young champions. Before that, you had to go back almost twenty seasons to see a driver win his first world title once he had passed the age of 24. Nicky Hayden had thus put an end to the domination of Valentino Rossi in 2006.

The following list shows the eight different MotoGP world champions and their ages on the day of their first title. Multiple MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi did not win his first premier class title under the current name of the championship. The Doctor had, in fact, tasted success a year earlier. When the class was still called 500cc.

ALSO READ > Before Martin, these drivers won titles with fewer victories than their rivals

Age of MotoGP world champions when they won their first title:

2001, Valentino Rossi (22 years and 240 days) – 500cc
2006, Nicky Hayden (24 years old)
2007, Casey Stoner (21 years 342 days)
2010, Jorge Lorenzo (23 years and 159 days)
2013, Marc Marquez (20 years and 266 days)
2020, Joan Mir (23 years and 75 days)
2021, Fabio Quartararo (22 years and 187 days)
2022, Pecco Bagnaia (25 years and 296 days)

Note that if we exclude Pecco Bagnaia and Nicky Hayden from this ranking, all the others are among the ten youngest champions from the history of the Grand Prix.

As a reminder, this world champion title made Jorge Martin the thirtieth winner in the history of the world championships. The fifth Spanish driver to achieve such a feat. Before him, Alex Criville, Joan Mir, Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez had added to Spain's tally.