“Like a copy of Valentino Rossi” - has MotoGP’s future superstar been found?

The 18-year-old from Majorca, Spain, won the Moto3 championship and will step up to partner Jake Dixon next season in the Moto2 2023 rider line-up for GASGAS Aspar Team.

"He has a brutal talent,” said ex-rider Gino Borsoi to Marca. “In Japan they asked me who he looks like, and I think he looks a lot like Valentino Rossi. 

“For his desire to ride a motorcycle, his desire to win and to live from inside the paddock. 

“He always jokes and laughs, he works as little as Valentino did in his time, but he has an enormous talent. 

“It looks like a copy of Valentino, but let's see how he fares in Moto2, how he adapts to the category."

Team owner Jorge Martínez added: "He has incredible talent, the naturalness and ease with which he does what he does always surprises us. It grows and advances at a crazy speed." 

Nico Terol, the former rider, said: "He's a unique talent, he doesn't even know the qualities he has. His spontaneity makes it special."

Izan Guevara’s incredible stats in 2022

• He is the fifth-youngest rider to win a world title aged 18 years, 110 days - beating Rossi who was 18 years, 196 days, who won the 125cc title in 1997.

• Guevara is the sixth-youngest winner of a Moto3 race aged 17 years, 97 days - behind Maverick Vinales who was 17 years, 86 days.

Marc Marquez has already heaped praise on his fellow Spaniard: "Of course I get excited when I see kids like that.

“But at the same time not, because I know that [they are] going to make things difficult for me from now on. 

“You see that they are kids who are going to go up to MotoGP.”