Jorge Martínez “Aspar” has been linked to the Motorcycle World Championship for more than forty years. Four decades in which the championship has evolved, as he himself did from apprentice driver facing Ángel Nieto to established driver facing Valentino Rossi. And with four world titles before forming his own structure that is, today, one of the strongest in Moto3 and Moto2 year after year, and which was already so in the 125 and 250 era.
It must be remembered that the Aspar Team was in MotoGP until 2018 and, in fact, in that period of time it was the only private team with representation in all three categories, which represents a challenge of immense magnitude.
Therefore, if there is a voice with experience in the paddock it is, without a doubt, that of the Alzirano who, in an interview on the Fast&Curious podcast, gave his point of view on Marc Márquez and, also, on the speed he has compared to Valentino Rossi himself. Furthermore, during the conversation he does not hesitate to talk about the situation of the Moto2 and Moto3 riders financially, and compared to what the 125 and 250 riders earned, which was much more.
More than 40 years in Aspar’s races allow us to see things through another prism
He also remembers the beginnings of Valentino and even tells the anecdote of how he passed up the possibility of signing Rossi in the beginning, recognizing the virtues that he recognized that were even one of the reasons that made him retire as a driver, and the way in which Valentino has changed motorcycling.
But, as we say, the most striking part is the one in which he analyzes the two great drivers of the 21st century (although Valentino won two of his titles before the end of the 20th century). Aspar, analyzing everything in a transparent way, puts on the table a fact that is normally overlooked and that is that despite being the great dominators of their eras and having coincided with each other, they are two pilots with very different qualities:
“They are very different. I think that as a driver perhaps Valentino is more complete, but Marc is infinitely faster.”
Next, Jorge adds a part that is often overlooked and that is the management that Márquez has had to do with his career:
“And then I have tremendous admiration for Marc for how he has led his career, right? And how aggressive he has been, the limit he has always sought, the number of times he has fallen, how he has continually overcome injuries, I mean, I believe that Marc is a driver worthy of study on a mental level, eh, on a mental level. From an incredible strength and they are very different. And I am convinced, at least a personal opinion, that Valentino Rossi, from a mental point of view, is also a special guy but with Marc’s injuries he would not have been able to.”
Certainly a different way, and with its own arguments and experiences that cast a calm vision on what has been, without a doubt, the great rivalry in the history of modern motorcycling.
