Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez share MotoGP’s record after taking poles in 16 different seasons. Márquez can move ahead with a pole in 2027.
Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez each secured at least one Grand Prix pole position in 16 different seasons, the highest total in championship history. The shared qualifying record captures two distinct versions of MotoGP greatness.
Two careers reach the same number
Rossi’s pole-scoring seasons ran from 1996 to 2018. They included 1996 and 1997, every year from 2001 through 2010, followed by 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Márquez arrived at 16 seasons by a different route. He took poles in every campaign from 2009 through 2019, then recorded at least one in each season from 2022 through 2026.
Both riders sit ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, who each recorded poles in 15 seasons.
Rossi’s record measures longevity
Rossi spent 26 seasons in the world championship, starting in 125cc in 1996 and finishing in MotoGP in 2021. He claimed poles across the 125cc, 250cc, 500cc and MotoGP categories.
That period featured major technical changes. Rossi qualified at the front on lightweight two-strokes, 500cc machinery and successive generations of four-stroke MotoGP bikes. He also captured premier-class championships with Honda and Yamaha.
His final pole-scoring season arrived 22 years after his first.
Márquez’s record reflects recovery
Márquez started his pole sequence in 125cc in 2009, one year after making his Grand Prix debut. He carried that form into Moto2, then became MotoGP champion immediately as a rookie in 2013.
His uninterrupted streak stopped after 2019. That year, Márquez delivered 10 poles, 12 wins, 18 podiums and 420 points for Honda. Serious injury ruled him out for the entire 2020 season and disrupted the campaigns that followed.
Márquez returned to pole-winning form in 2022, beginning a second sequence that continued into 2026. The comeback distinguishes his mark from a straightforward measure of career length.
Qualifying changes complicate comparison
Pole position hasn't always presented the same challenge. Rossi’s career spanned changing session formats, tire competition and the introduction of spec rubber. Márquez competed under the current qualifying system, which can force riders through Q1 before they fight for pole in Q2.
Calendar size makes a difference too. Earlier champions had fewer opportunities each season, while modern riders compete across longer schedules. Counting seasons with a pole limits the effect of packed calendars, though it still favors careers extending across several eras.
The next target is 17
Rossi retired with 115 Grand Prix victories, nine world championships and 6,357 career points. Márquez entered the 2026 record snapshot with 101 wins, eight championships and 4,762 points.
The shared qualifying mark is one of the few major records Márquez can claim outright with another pole-scoring season. His next target is set: a pole in 2027 would put him alone on 17.
