Motorcycle World Champions Top 10

Motorcycle World Champions Top 10

MOTORCYCLE WORLD CHAMPIONS TOP 10

1 - BARRY SHEENE

Anyone into motorcycles knows who Barry Sheene - the man was a legend. He managed to win consecutive world titles after surviving the horrific Daytona crash. But Barry was more than just a racer, he was the first motorcycle racing superstar and the man who put motorcycle racing on the front pages. Nobody has had quite the impact before or since.

2 - VALENTINO ROSSI

If anybody has come close to Barry Sheene on charisma it’s got to be this guy. Valentino has won nine world titles in his amazing career and it’s going to be a sad day when he retires.

Love him or hate him Marc Marquez is probably the most talented rider I’ve ever seen. So why isn’t he number one? Well he might be the most skilled rider ever but he’s still a hard rider to warm to plus I still believe he gets away with a lot of dirty tricks that any other rider would be punished for.

4 - MIKE HAILWOOD

Mike will always be a legend with his nine world titles but even though my top ten is supposed to be about world champions I can’t not mention the 1978 TT when Mike pulled off the comeback of all comebacks! Eleven years away from motorcycle racing and the man turns up and beats everyone, like I said legend!

5 - CASEY STONER

Casey won two titles one for Ducati and one for Honda which is no mean feat. Casey was the only rider when Rossi was at his peak that could race at the same level, then at the top of his game he walked away from the money and sport because of a promise to his family. Casey is a very cool guy.

6 - JOHN SURTEES

Winning four motorcycle world titles is impressive but to then change to four wheels and go on to win the Formula One title is a feat that will never be repeated.

7 - GIACOMO AGOSTINI

Giacomo always looked more like a film star than a racer but 15 world titles is something that will probably never be beaten, admittedly he was racing in an era where if you had the best machinery you could lap the rider in second place.

8 - WAYNE RAINEY

If Wayne Rainey hasn’t been on the scene Kevin Schwantz would have had numerous world titles instead of one but Wayne was there and he was a truly brilliant rider winning his three consecutive world titles. He was also leading the championship by eleven points when he had his life changing crash at Misano.

9 - MICK DOOHAN

Mick wasn’t ever the most exciting rider on the grid, he just knew how to win! And win he did with five consecutive world titles. I can remember sitting down to watch him race in the nineties only to realise after two or three laps - oh he’s got this.

10 - KENNY ROBERTS

When I was a kid I hated Kenny Roberts, only because he always seemed to beat my favourite Barry Sheene. But looking back you realise just how good this guy was at the time. He was the first to slide the rear wheel dirt track style - very cool!

Obviously this is my personal World Champion Top 10 and I would probably move a couple of names around from week to week but Barry Sheene will always be my number one, as he was the rider that got me into motorcycles in the first place. It would be interesting to see what your Top 10 would be....