Retrospective: Top 10 Underrated Drivers – Part 1

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You must keep it in mind. You know, those pilots who have great jobs and outstanding accomplishments but no one talks about. It is underestimated, and not valued at its fair value. In Grand Prix motorcycles as in all other sports, there are a lot of them, which sometimes pay for an insufficiently defined situation, an unfavorable period or many other criteria. Together, let’s put together the top 10 most underrated riders in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history.

Standards

As with every top, let’s first take a look at the benchmarks. To make his place among the ten, the driver must be so strong, that we never – or rarely – mention his name. This is not the rating of forgotten driversfar from it, because it can be titled several times in the category of Queen and still under the category.

Thus, the closer to the first position, the stronger they will be, but at the same time, their greatness will be weighed down by their lack of recognition. This is the complexity of this exercise, as it is necessary to have one performance measure and one related to their ineffectiveness in the story; they ” undercut “.

John Kuczynski, isn’t just crazy. Here’s 1991 (No. 19) with World’s Best. Photo: Rickita

In fact, it’s a somewhat subjective top, perhaps more so than most. You are welcome to give us your feedback, knowing that everything will be read and discussed – as usual elsewhere. The goal, beyond the classification, is above all, to honor drivers who are not talked about much.

honorific

Let’s start the day with the honorable mentions, those that didn’t manage to make it into the top 10. Let’s just point out that there is no set ranking in this section. First, the New Zealander Graeme Crosby, author of three great seasons in the early 1980s. Often on the podium but never winning, he was a fighting model but left the Continental Circus too soon. The 1982 500cc World Vice-Champion deserves a mention.

Let’s go back with a few years Jula Marsovsky, is arguably the least known 500cc world runner-up of all time. He holds Swiss citizenship, and was one of those constantly confronted Giacomo Agostinibut that didn’t stop him from having a long career, which began in 1961 and ended in 1975. He still had eight podiums, for one win, during the 1971 250cc Grand Prix of Nations.

We also mention Pat Henin, the American that Kenny Roberts himself was wary of at the end of the seventies. A three-time 500cc winner, a nasty Tourist Cup injury that led to his retirement from the world championships after only two and a half seasons, which doesn’t help leave a memorable mark in history. Either way, he remains one of the greatest underdogs of all time, blessed with insane talent. You can find the full retro gallery we’ve dedicated to him by clicking here.

Now let’s move on to two profiles that were at one time in the top 10. These are, on the one hand, John Kuczynski. Admittedly, he is less forgetful than the others, especially because of his many adventures. But this took precedence over his immense talent. We are talking here about a potential 500cc world champion in the early 1990s, a hotly contested era. Titled 250cc during the 1990 season, he never crossed the threshold needed to beat Kevin SchwantzAnd Mick Doohan And Wayne Rainey over the course of an entire season. We tend to forget his speed and adaptability (winning Yamaha then CagivaSuperbike World Champion in 1997), often reducing him to a rather odd guy.

Pat Henin, forgettable and underrated at the same time.

Recently, Cal Crutchlow. To tell the truth, more or less for the same reasons, the end of his career (2019-2022) is not very good, and we have heard him complaining more in the press than getting good results. Therefore, we remember him as a big mouth, friend Jack Miller, troublemakers among many others. But you need to remember Cal Crutchlow 2013 or 2016 or 2018. He wasn’t laughing at all. At Tech3 Yamaha, back in 2013, made one of the – if not the – Greatest season underdog of all time. We’re talking about a guy who looked into the eyes of Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi some weekends, when he had a much inferior machine. Then, what’s the evaluation in LCR. He is, quite simply, the best Honda driver of the 2010s decade, taking three big wins in the rain but also in the dry.

By the time Marc Marquez was capitalizing on the development of the machine, the Englishman was doing well and excellently. Casually, when one draws the hierarchy of Honda pilots of the past ten years in Moto GPCrutchlow arrives before long Jorge Lorenzo, Alvaro Bautista, Marco Simoncelli, Takaaki Nakagami, Jack Miller, Stefan Bradl, Paul Espargaro and others Alex Marquez.

That’s it for today! Finally, let’s quickly mention Tony Elias And Bradley Smith, is often forgotten in regards to their accomplishments. See you tomorrow for places 10 and 9!

Cover photo: Rikita