In an interview with Solomoto, the Spanish manager analyses recent generations of reigning class riders and selects what he considers to be the best. The current Repsol Honda Team Director has a long career behind him. After retiring from competition in 1997, he worked as a talent scout for many years, discovering riders like Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa (he was also the Spaniard’s personal manager). During said interview, Puig spoke about the Stoner/Pedrosa/Lorenzo age, which he believes is better than the current generation.
Puig: "Rossi and Marquez come from an instinctive generation"
Today’s MotoGP consists of many young riders, from Mir to Quartararo, already world champions, to Bastianini, winner of this season’s first round. The generational changeover is clear to see, with a 29-year old Marc Marquez already one of the category’s veterans. The rider level is very high, due also to a very balanced field of manufacturers, with very little between them. The "Fantastic 4" era, in which the races were almost always monopolised by the same riders is now a distant memory and perhaps this is the reason why Alberto Puig has such clear ideas as to which is the best generation: “With all due respect for the current riders, the generation that I knew so well, with Stoner, Pedrosa or Lorenzo, was definitely better than the current generation. Those three were of exceptional quality and potential".
The three riders that the Spanish manager mentions made their mark on the world championship and MotoGP, both for their overall results – with two titles for Stoner, five for Lorenzo and three for Pedrosa (in the minor classes), but also for their personalities and riding styles. Puig chooses to exclude Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez from this group, putting them in their own special category: “I don’t count Rossi and Marquez as they come from an instinctive generation".
Translated by Heather Watson
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