Gallery: the 10 riders with the most races in 500cc/MotoGP

In 26 years in the World Championship, 22 of them in the premier class, Valentino Rossi only missed seven races due to injury. Until 2021, the Italian was the only rider who had contested every season since the switch to four-stroke engines and the start of the MotoGP era, which added to his two years in 500cc left a figure of 372 races.

The record for the most races held in 500cc/MotoGP by the nine-time world champion will hardly be broken in the medium term. Second at this time is the already retired Alex Barros at more than 100, although Andrea Dovizioso threatens to overtake him in 2022, since only 11 starts separate them.

In a varied top 10 there are up to four Spaniards. Dani Pedrosa is the first of them with 218 races. The Spaniard broke a tie with the ill-fated Nicky Hayden thanks to his last wild card with KTM in 2021 and is now fourth.

In the rest of the list there is only one other active driver: Aleix Espargaró (8th). The Catalan, who is already the driver who has played the most races without ever winning, has started in 197 and will have a shot in 2022 to the seventh, Jorge Lorenzo (203) and the sixth, Loris Capirossi (215).

The top 10 of the drivers with the most races in the premier class are completed by two other veterans who have already left the competition a long time ago: Colin Edwards and Carlos Checa , who were just on the verge of reaching the 200 (196 and 195 respectively).

Among other active drivers with many races are Marc Márquez (142), Pol Espargaró (135) or Maverick Viñales (120).