5 motorcycle five-time world champions

As Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez wrapped up his fifth world title at Motegi last weekend, we tip our hat to five other five-time motorcycling world champs

1. Kenan Sofuoglu

Spanish star Marc Marquez wasn't the only motorcycle racer celebrating his fifth world title overnight, with Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu successfully defending his World Supersport title during the penultimate round of the championship in Jerez, Spain. With an already unprecedented four World Supersport titles to his name, the 32-year-old cemented his status as the 600cc production-based category's most successful rider when he crossed the line ahead of Finish rider Niki Tuuli. Much like Marc Marquez' title victory, the Turkish rider had a mathematical possibility to clinch the crown, but was looking unlikely until teammate and title rival Randy Krummenacher crashed out of the race and title contention in the early stages. Krummenacher's crash and Sofuoglu's victory gave the Turk an unassailable 63-point lead with just one round remaining.

2. Anton Mang

German rider Anton Mang won two 350cc world titles and three 250cc titles in the seven seasons between 1980 and 1987. Four of his five titles were won on Kawasaki machinery with his last title, the 1987 250cc world championship, clinched on board a Honda. Toni, as he was known, celebrated a double world championship in 1981, when he dominated the 250cc category with 10 victories from 11 starts, and the 350cc category with five wins from eight starts. Mang won the very last 350cc crown in 1982 with one victory, four second-place finishes and a third during the season, and finishing off the podium only once. He tried his hand in the 500cc class in both the 1977 and 1983 seasons, but failed to finish any higher than 10th in the premier class.

3. Mika Ahola

The late Finnish off-road rider won five consecutive World Enduro Championships between 2007 and 2011, all on Honda machinery. His first title came after no less than 14 years of trying, finishing runner-up five times and third overall on two occasions since beginning his WEC campaign way back in 1993. His swag of titles came in all classes, claiming two in the series' E2 class (2007 and 2010), two more in the E1 class (2008 and 2009) and another – his last – in the E3 category (2011), becoming the first bloke to win in all three categories in the process. In early 2012, Ahola crashed heavily while training in Spain, tragically succumbing to his injuries in hospital a few days later on January 16, 2012, aged just 37.

4. Mick Doohan

Think five-time world champion and most people think Mick Doohan. Those words have been rolling off motorcycle racing fans' tongues since the Australian claimed his fifth consecutive world title in 1998. He scored a podium in his debut season in 1989 with his maiden win coming the next year at the Hungarian Grand Prix. What would become his infamous crash occurred during qualifying at Assen in 1992, the fall leaving him with a severely broken leg and the many associated complications that followed. Despite doctors wanting to amputate, Doohan was back on his 500cc Honda in a bid to thwart title rival Wayne Rainey's championship campaign just eight weeks later, and only failing by the slimmest of margins. He finished fourth in the title in 1993 amid recovery but was on-song in 1994 winning nine of the 14 races to claim his maiden 500cc World Championship. And the Australian kept on winning: four more hugely successful years and four more world titles meant Doohan appeared unstoppable. A fourth and a second in the two opening rounds of the 1999 championship had Doohan on the same winning trajectory until a crash in Spain spelled a broken leg, shoulder and wrist – and lead to his subsequent retirement at the end of the 1999 season.

5. Jorge Lorenzo

The Spanish rider has two 250cc world titles and three MotoGP world titles and, with 64 race wins to his name, Jorge Lorenzo is the series' fifth-most-successful rider. He spent three years in the 125cc category with a best finish of fourth overall before moving to the quarter-litre category in 2005, where six podiums from four pole positions left him fifth in standings in his debut season. Known for his steely focus and self-belief, Lorenzo's maiden title came in 2006. He successfully defended his title in 2007 before making the switch to the MotoGP category in 2008. His first premier-class victory came in just his third race and he finished second overall in his second year before celebrating his first MotoGP World Championship in 2010. There was another in 2012 and his most recent title, the 2015 MotoGP crown, came under the dark cloud that was the very public and very bitter stoush between MotoGP's golden boys, Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi. The 2017 season will be his first in 10 years in the premier-class category where he won't be riding a factory Yamaha, after securing a two-year contract with Ducati.

5 motorcycle five-time world champions

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