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The first season of the motorbike riding Championship awarding points to riders was held in 1949 under the aegis of Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM, International Motorcycling Federation).
British rider Leslie Graham was the inaugural champion. From 1997 onward, 3 classes have been demarcated for motorbike racing. They are 125cc, 250cc and the 500cc class which is commonly referred to as MotoGP. or the premier class.
Since 2003 all the bikes have been mandated to use four-stroke engines only. Since 1949, we have had 26 different Riders' Champions. We take a look at the top 5 drivers with the most MotoGP Premier Class wins :
#5 Marc Marquez
Spaniard Marc Marquez nicknamed 'The Ant' is one of only 3 riders to have won the Championship across all three classes. Marquez is the youngest ever MotoGP Champion. He achieved this with Team Repsol Honda in the year 2013 at the age of 20.
He successfully defended his title in 2014 and was also crowned champion in 2016 and 2017. The Spaniard is on course for a 5th Riders' Championship crown in 2018. From 2013 till the 2018 Thailand Grand Prix, Marquez has won an impressive 42 races.
#4 Jorge Lorenzo
Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo was the 250cc Rider's champion in 2006 and 2007. He made his premier class debut in 2008 as a part of Team Yamaha. In 8 successful years with Yamaha, Lorenzo won the Riders' Championship three times in 2010, 2012 and 2015.
The next two years he raced for Team Ducati. He has signed a 2-year contract with Team Repsol Honda starting from the 2019 season. Lorenzo has won an impressive 47 wins till date.
#3 Mick Doohan
Aussie Mick Doohan made his debut in the year 1989 riding for Team Honda. In 137 race starts, he stood on the podium 95 times, aggregating a total of 2283 points in his 10-year MotoGP career.
Doohan won 5 consecutive MotoGP Riders Championships between 1994 and 1998. He is considered to be one of the greatest motorbike riders of all-time. The first turn at the picturesque Philip Island Circuit is named after him. Doohan won a total of 54 Grand Prix races.
#2 Giacomo Agostini
The most accomplished rider in MotoGP history is Italian Giacomo Agostini. 'Ago' Agostini has the all-time record of 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles across the 350cc and 500cc classes.
He won the premier 500cc class a record 8 times including 7 consecutive Championships between 1966 and 1972 as a member of Team MV Agusta. His last Championship came in 1975 with Team Yamaha. He won a total of 68 MotoGP races.
#1 Valentino Rossi
Italian Valentino Rossi is one of three riders to have won a Championship title across all three classes. He won the 125cc class Championship in 1997 and the 250cc class Championship in 1999.
He won the MotoGP Championship on 5 consecutive occasions between 2001-2005 inclusive. He has won a total of 7 Riders' Championship titles only behind fellow Italian Giacomo Agostini in the all-time list.
He is the only rider to have aggregated more than 5000 Championship points. He has stood on the podium a record 196 times including on 23 consecutive races between 2003 and 2004. 'The Doctor' #46 Rossi has won a total of 89 Grand Prix races.
