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Following his (appropriate) 46th career win at last Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, from his 85 starts in the premier-class, world champion Valentino Rossi is by far the most successful rider of the modern-era in terms of percentage wins and podiums.
However, it is interesting to compare his statistics to fellow Italian legend Giacomo Agostini who is the most successful rider of all time with eight premier-class titles in the late 60s and early 70s.
Agostini's main rival in his early grand prix years was another all-time great, Mike Hailwood, and from 1973 onwards Agostini had multi world champion Phil Read to contend with. In the intervening years it is generally considered that Agostini had little competition as his peers were often riding inferior machinery.
The following table, which compares the statistics of the two riders during their careers in the premier-class, show that Agostini has an advantage in terms of winning percentage, while Rossi has the superior figures when it comes to percentage podium finishes and average points per start.
Rossi vs. Agostini:
Starts: Rossi 85 / Agostini 119
Wins: Rossi 46 / Agostini 68
Win %: Rossi 54.1% / Agostini 57.1%
Podiums: Rossi 70 / Agostini 88
Podium %: Rossi 82.3% / Agostini 73.9%
Points per start: Rossi 19.65 / Agostini 18.18*
* Adjusted to current points system for Agostini.
Meanwhile, Rossi's Mugello pole marked the 28th time he has started from the front in the premier-class - and is just one less than 1993 World Champion Kevin Schwantz (lower pic).
Since full records are available (from 1974) only Schwantz and Mick Doohan have been on pole more than Rossi. The following table shows the number of pole positions in the premier-class in the "modern-era" (since 1974):
Premier-class poles:
1. Mick Doohan - 58
2. Kevin Schwantz - 29
3. Valentino Rossi - 28
4. Freddie Spencer - 26
5. Max Biaggi - 23
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