Greatest 500cc Riders of All Time
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Greatest 500cc Riders of All Time | Top 10 Legendary Champions
We count down the 10 greatest 500cc riders of all time, who dominated the toughest motorcycle racing category in history. The 500cc class was known for its high speed, danger, and fierce competition, and only the best riders could conquer it.
Starting with the legendary Giacomo Agostini, who secured an incredible 68 wins and 8 world championships, we highlight each rider’s remarkable career. From Mick Doohan, with 54 wins and 5 world titles, to the fearless and consistent Eddie Lawson with 31 wins and 4 championships, we showcase their achievements on the world stage.
The list also includes riders like Wayne Rainey, who earned 24 wins and 3 championships, and the always exciting Kevin Schwantz, with 25 victories and 1 title. We dive into the unique styles of icons like Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, and Barry Sheene, who made their mark on the sport, as well as Wayne Gardner, who brought home 18 wins and 1 world title.
Lastly, we can't forget Randy Mamola, who, despite not winning a championship, thrilled fans with 13 victories and many near-title finishes.
If you love MotoGP history, 500cc racing, or the greatest motorcycle riders of all time, this video is for you. Make sure to watch until the end, and don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more content on the world's best motorcycle racing legends!
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Giacomo Agostini is infact number one with 15 world championships. 10 Isle of Man TT wins.
122 Grand Prix wins.
159 podiums.
6 pole positions.
At the time, Mike Hailwood was also racing, and I have to say that they are the finest racers that I have seen. Both were fantastic riders, sportsmen, and brilliant ambassadors for motorcycling.
They were also great friends off track despite being the greatest of rivals on track.
I first saw Ago on the MV Agusta as a 9 year old, never forgetting the soundtrack of those wonderful bikes.
Re: Ago, here is an anecdote as told by Kel Carruthers about when he was running the Factory Yamaha Road Race Team in America. It was 1974 and Yamaha had shipped him two new TZ750's for checkout by the four Yamaha Factory Riders of the time (Kenny Roberts, Ago, Romero and one rider that I do not remember). They took the bikes to a track in Cali for testing. In Kel's words "Romero and the other factory rider could not ride it", "Ago could ride it " and "Kenny was several seconds per lap faster than Ago".
Am an Australian. I loved watching Randy Mamola at work. Always totally 100% balls to the wall. Absolutely fearless
Him and Schwantz man just pure aggression.
Dani Pedrosa of the 500cc era. Immensely talented rider, but...
Love it. Ah, the golden years of the Gladiators.😢
You obviously know just as little as the maker of this video!
Dang...Were we spoiled with top riders in the 80's and 90's?......Yes, absolutely!
A lot better than the riders of today for sure
Wayne Rainy should have rated in the top 3 at least... Before Rainy's injury Doohan on head 2 head basis was well covered by Rainy
Couple of corrections.
Eddie Lawson won races on Honda, Yamaha and Cagiva (commentary only mentions his riding for Yamaha and Honda) - the Cagiva win is legendary for circumstances and racecraft.
Randy Mamola did not win a race on Cagiva as mentioned by the commentary
@@gazsomeone7300 yea, it's kind of funny knowing that all/most of these "commentators" probably weren't even on the PLANET when all these guys won all their world championships- I'm 70 years old, qualified 2nd next to Eddie Lawson at Daytona in the 1976 250cc novice race, so when people start comparing apples to
oranges, I just LAUGH-
it's IMPOSSIBLE to rate who's the best by the number of races they've won -
Come on guys. Where is your thinking
Mike Hailwood was and is probably the best ever motorcycle GP rider of all times. You have to realize the bikes at that time. Simple construction, except that 6 cylinder Honda 250
In his time and beyond, all racers regarded him as the goat.
Kevin Schwantz got my vote
LOL... Bogus! No Surtees, No Hailwood. No Duke. No credibility. The world DID exist before the 1970s.
That’s right mate , absolutely 👊
2-strokes...ding-dong.
@@a34rwl The listing said "of all time", not just 2-strokes.
Roberts may get credit for knee dragging but Jarno Sarrian was the first knee dragger.
Eckerold?
However much I love Kenny Robert's Sn, Jarno was the first one to drag his knee
And also (and I know that it's a what-if scenario) if he didn't died so early he would easily be on this top 10 list. Easily!
Paul Smart was the first knee dragger I ever saw
I am a mad Kenny Robert's fan but you are quite right Jarno Sarrinon was the first
What no Mick Hailwood 9 world championships 76 wins 112 podiums from 152 starts in multiple classes
Yeah, and every time Mike the Bike went head to head with Ago, the Italian usually came second best. There is no contest. There's Hailwood, a big gap and then there's everybody else.
Just like F1 all the most wins stats will favour later riders due to ever increasing seasons. In Mike's day, the sixties, I guess there might have been 10 or so races a year. Without doubt Mike the Bike is an all time great. PS just looked up the percent wins, Surtees 65, Mike 63, Duke 59 and Ago 58
@@leongt1954 Don’t forget Hailwood’s achievements at the TT! He left for 11 years, came back and showed a new generation of riders on totally different machinery how a Grandmaster does it!
Agostini won more, he beat Hailwood and won on 2 and 4 strokes
I don’t think he rode 2 strokes?
A load of bull obviously done by an American. Mike Hailwood, with 9 Grand Prix Motorcycle World Championships, including his FOUR CONSECUTIVELY in 500cc, not to mention FOURTEEN Isle of Man TT wins - probably the greatest motorcyclist of all time, as well as competing in Formula One. And he'd done all that before most of your Top 10 were even born! Then of course was John Surtees, who won FOUR 500cc World Championships, three of them consecutively from 1958 to 1960, where he also won the 350cc Championships as well!! Then Surtees went on to win the World Formula One Driver's Championship in 1964 in a Ferrari - the only man to win World Championships on TWO and FOUR wheels!
And you call this big group of Americans "Legends"?? You're not even close!!
Spencer for me was most impressive winning 250 and 500 in the same year, stamina and skill to the max.
Spencer fan here. Marquez reminds me of Spencer, exaggerated riding style, Honda poached him from a different manufacturer, an antagonistic relationship with an earlier multi-champion (Spencer with Roberts, and Marquez with Rossi), and a polarized opinions about the rider.
A top 10 is tough to pick. By titles Ago will always be #1. By talent, Casey Stoner must be in the top 5…he was amazing in the rain !
Stoner never rode a 500cc two stroke.😂
@HangingAround1977 Again, this is NOT about who rode only 2 strokes. In fact, when Honda pulled out of GP racing after 1967, MV AND Honda both had equal to superior performance compared to the 2 strokes. Only 1 thing has made the 2 stroke become a higher output engine, and that would be the expansion chamber exhaust. This list is all time, not just 2 stroke after 1967......
@@Robert.M.zx6r how would you know
@@milojanis4901 The “500cc” in the title really suggests it is all about two strokes, after all no 500 four stroke would come close to matching the power of the two.
Doohan would have won 7 straight. If he wouldn't have got hurt.
I tend to agree.
Rainey would have WON 4 straight if he didn't get paralyzed.... Was running away w # 4, and he wasn't a crasher. Bad luck, they are all amazing. Rainey was my favorite !!
Doohan would have won 0 if the others keep racing
@@antoniosecco1732 that has to be the dumbest thing I ever heard.
@@antoniosecco1732 clown
Giacomo Agostini won a total of 15 World Championships in both 350cc and 500cc. Also 16 Italian Championships.
And also 10 Isle Of Man TT wins
@@shamuswint4575 Correct
Ago is the greatest but also because he had the best motors. Same for Hailwood and Redman.
Phil Read ?
@@MELLYBOY58 Yes. He's part of the all time greats.
You seem to have forgotten a number of real champions, i.e.: (And, by the way, Randy Mamola - No championship, does NOT belong in this list! )
Leslie Graham - 1 time world champion 500 cc
Geoff Duke - 6 times world champion, 4 times 500 cc
Libero Liberati - 1 time 500 cc.
John Surtees - 7 times world champion, 4 times 500 cc, 3 times 350 cc, and even once F1 world champion.
Gary Hocking - 1 time 500 cc
Mike Hailwood - 9 times world champion, 4 times 500 cc, 2 times 350 cc, 3 times 250 cc.
Giacomo Agostini - Surprise, you mentioned him!
Phil Read - 7 times world champion - 2 times 500 cc, 2 times 350 cc, 4 times 250 cc, 1 time 125 cc.
Your list is clearly totally ridiculous! People like you, who obviously know practically nothing about the real motorcycle history, should not make videos like this one!
And don't forget Hailwood's FOURTEEN Isle of Man TT wins! Totally agree with you, Joep - video was made by a total ignoramus!
Have to agree, Joep. The maker of this video doesn't even realize that there was a 500cc era before the 2-strokes came along, and before any of his "legends" were out of diapers!
Outrageous video. No Mike Hailwood. Probably the bravest and fastest rider of all time. How can you have the greatest 500 cc rider video without Hailwood’s name being mentioned. Mike the bike….he won 14 TT’s at the Isle of Man, a place lot of riders wouldn’t ride there because it was so dangerous. He won 37 500cc races and four 500cc championships. Please do your homework before you create a video. This is a joke..
TOTALLY agree!!! No Hailwood is like having a power puncher list in HW boxing with no Mike Tyson or George Foreman! C'mon, man-Get real....
Absolutely right
Mike Hailwood was the GOAT. He rode 125, 250, 350, 500 GP bikes, plus 650 production bikes & upwards, either 2 & 4 strokes.
These were 1, 2, 4, 5 & 6 cylinder machines. And up to 4 GP races in a day, switching from one make to the next. Who else had that ability, certainly not the riders you show here
How would they perform at the Isle of Man TT. Probably run for cover!!
I miss Phil Read and Mike Hail wood
Can't believe Steve Baker isn't on the list 😳
I liked him, and I felt he could have done better if opportunities arose, but I don't think he could be on this top 10 list.
Not top 10 in my opinion.
No Rossi no Augastini are you out of your mind
Do your homework properly, where's Mike Hailwood.
And then there was this guy who never rode a race..... Jeremy Burgess played a key role in winning 14 MotoGP World Championships and over one hundred and fifty grands prix.
Mamola was with Honda as well
Pour moi, il y aura toujours, Agostini et, les autres.
No Mike Hailwood, or John Surtees, this list is total b*ll*cks. Plus, when Mike and John were riding, the Isle of Man TT races were part of the world championship; a course for true greats.
rossi was up there with the best of the greatest's 500cc racers and took the last ever title
Doohan
Roberts is no 1
king Kenny.
No Fast Freddie in the thumbnail? Fail.
Mike the bike was the best, then probably agostini, then Rossi ( although they stopped racing 2 strokes in about 2002 l think), not the same after this.
Eddie, Rainey, Doohan, Roberts, Barry Gardner, Kevin
. All bloody brilliant & ballsy in my opinion especially the early riders with fuck all safety, what was there motto
Here today, gone tomorrow
To all the complainers, the video states the top 10 OF THE 500cc era. Not the top ten Grand Prix riders of all time. But I think he meant to say 2 strokes. 500cc was 4 stroke until the early 70s, I think? So Hailwood, obviously an amazing rider, doesn’t qualify.
You are right, implicitly, but the list should have included the statement that was only considering 2-strokes.
Define "500cc era!" 500cc bikes have been raced for a century. Anyone ever hear of the Norton Manx?
Well he included Agostini and the MV Agusta which was 4 stroke. He just didn't do his research
@ did he? Ago did ride 2 strokes as well.
@@milojanis4901grand prix bike racing started in 1949
How is Mamola with NO championships in the list, when you ignore the likes of Rossi (one championship in the 500's, but titles in the 125 and 250 classes as well as dominating the MotoGP era), then Geoff Duke - 500 AND 350 World Championships in 1951&1952! Then John Surtees - Four Championships, Mike Hailwood - Four Championships ! More research required.
I got to shake Mic Doohan's hand in the pit lane at Laguna Seca a couple dozen years ago, he's my pick. Yeah, I know about Ago and his unbeatable records.
I stopped watching when I heard that Randy Mamola had won on the Cagiva C593.
AI doesn't get fact checked. It just blurts mindless info and mispronounces names.
Clickbait. This is what you get when you know nothing and rely on AI to produce.
Where is Luca Cadalora ? 😂
Below hailwood brought up this about 500cc 2 stroke riders hailwoid was o. 4 strokes back before 500s
No one heart of jumping jack?
In questa classifica manca Valentino... ha poche vittorie con le 500cc 2 tempi per ovvi motivi ma ha dimostrato che le dominava e avrebbe continuato 😉
And you left out the American rider that was on his way to the first US world 500 championship until IOM; Pat Hennen. Shame!
Indeed. He was class.
Falto jarno saarinen y mike hailwood
put these guys to the TT and see what happens.
Let's get real here. The difference with the IOM riders is that they are willing to risk their lives more. They are the bravest. But not the fastest riders around. A mid pack BSB rider can go to the Island and win a TT. Put a TT rider on a short circuit and they do jack shit. McGuinness can't even win a race in national superstock. None of them would stand a chance in Motogp.
I think you FORGOT a couple of guys - VALENTINO ROSSI MAYBE ?? How about Kenny Roberts Jr??
Valentino won most of his races on a 4 stroke. Kenny jr was in the 500cc class, but he won only 8 races spanning 2 years.
This top 10 is based on race wins in the 2 stroke 500cc class. Kenny jr didn’t make the cut…
@@cheffy597 WHO'S CUT ? opinions are like ASSHOLES-
@stevebigansky9372 Valentino only won 12 500cc races, hence him not being on the list. Although they did leave out Mike Hailwood off the list for some unknown reason. He had 37 wins
@@cheffy597KRJR was the last & also the worst (in termsbof fominating the season) world champion ever imo, only won a couple of races in that last two-stroke season.
Miss those years😊
@@sandervandenberg977 mate, totally agree with you…
Nowadays you must add Toprak
Only one. Giacomo. Agostini. Ma. Augusta 🇮🇹
Failed. Try again. This time you may consider counting the number of 500 cm³ world championships.
Mike Hailwood streets ahead of the rest you don't know much about Grand Prix racing mate.
No Jim Redman
I agree with other comments Mike the bike that's what he was ride anything from 125 to 1000 cc get your facts right
No Rossi? No Hailwood? No Marques? No Roberts Sr? no credibility, bad .
Rossi and marquee are motogp legends not gp500
How are you going to show faces at the beginning of the video and not show Freddy Spencer he's probably the all-time greatest rider out there. 250 and 500 CC champion all in the same year are you kidding me😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
John Surtees won the 350cc and 500cc World Championships THREE CONSECUTIVE TIMES from 1958 to 1960. Freddy Spencer doesn't rate next to that!
Many riders won 500cc and 350cc titles in the same season.
Rossi should be in heading.
Not in the 500cc categorie
Why not?
@mariosablon9039 agostini wasn't in the 500 2 stroke category and Rossi got so many wins on a 500 so it's not accurate.
Rossi only got in on the tail end of the 500cc racing in 2000 and 2001 with a title in 2001 so no he wasn't the greatest 500cc rider but he did very well in those two years.
@@tonyfree2691 no it's not accurate and also very subjective but in 500cc formula, Lawson and Rainey achieved much more success. Most of Rossi's victories and titles came after the 500cc era
Mike Hailwood was better than all these.
Jarno Saarinen pioneered the hang off and knee dragging style before Kenny Roberts rode in his first Grand Prix. The rest of the video is correct other than I question the authenticity of the Agostini victories. The title of the video is "greatest 500cc Riders of all time". So, how many victories did he have riding a 500cc Yamaha? The MV Agusta Agostini rode was a 420cc bike if I remember right and it was a 4-stroke engine. are we even comparing like for like here?
Paul Smart was the first knee dragger I ever saw, in the late 60s/early 70s. Also, 500cc is 500cc. In the future, the 500cc bikes will be even better. Does that mean we throw Robert's under the bus??! NO. History is a big thing. As for the greatest rider? IMHO, Roberts was the top rider ever. They had to outlaw the TZ 750 from the dirt tracks, because Roberts was racing, and won on the TZ. He was the only guy I know that had the balls to ride a 4 cylinder 2 stroke on a dirt track at the national level. He also said he'd never do it again.
I don't think you know much.
Ken Roberts Sr. is the only rider to win the championship in his first year in the 500cc class, and he hadn’t ridden any of the circuits prior to ‘78, and for good measure he won the championship in ‘79 and ‘80 also. The ‘49 season doesn’t count because it was everyone’s first year in the class.
Yeah, like the first year of any sport doesn't count....LMFAO. Get real
No Rossi? Bullshit
You forgot Mike Hailwood..he should be at number 1..
Randy Rijeka/Grobnik/Croatia 🤍💙✌️
Kenny Roberts, somewhere in Europe, sometime in 1976. "Agostini, Agostini. All I ever hear is Agostini. He's never rode Ascot."
Il più grande della 500 è stato Kenny il marziano che ha inventato lo stile di corsa specialmente il modo di affrontare le curve che ancora oggi attuale...punto e bastaaaaaa