We have some 100 riders in all three MotoGP classes, and along comes an old codger journalist to rate them, one to 10
That time of year again… for me, as editor of Motocourse annual, time to select my top 10 of the year.
Oh, the arrogance of it.
We have some 100 riders in all three MotoGP classes, all – well, living the dream, but also living on their nerves, taking risks that would turn a normal person’s knees to jelly (a problem, if you’re scraping them on the asphalt).
Putting their egos on the line, in public, facing not just humiliation if they get beaten but also serious damage to life and limb if and when it goes wrong, as now and then it definitely will.
And some of them are doing it not for minimal pay but actually negative pay – those Moto2 and Moto3 triers whose only way in is to pay for an often sub-standard ride, hoping someone will notice how good they are.
And along comes an old codger journalist to rate them, one to 10.
Of course, nobody’s forcing them. They’re only doing it because they love it. And so, to be fair, am I.
I also like to provoke some argument. Which is inevitable. A British reader once described me as “Michael ‘I’m Right And You’re Wrong’ Scott”. A label I continue to embrace.
But surely nobody could argue with my number one, even if he’s not champion.
Marc Marquez really owned 2024. Once the golden boy, who succeeded (supplanted?) Valentino Rossi, he’s been through injury hell since 2020 – four surgeries on a won’t-heal broken arm, all the while battling a Honda RC213V that had been seriously left behind by the Europeans.
Crash after crash should have been enough to convince a multi-millionaire on the verge of turning 30 that he was getting a message from the universe. But it wasn’t. The way he adapted his style from Honda to Ducati, immediately becoming the only GP23 rider to seriously challenge the GP24s, said it all. Then he started winning races…
I bet he’ll be number one next year too.
Second: Jorge Martin only won three Sunday races, but he was always spectacularly fast and did what was needed. Count the points, take the prize. Pushing Pecco Bagnaia to third. More silverware, but too many mistakes. Being best on the day sometimes isn’t good enough.
Now the choice gets harder. Revisiting my list, I’m still wavering. Bring Brad Binder back? Drop Enea Bastianini lower. Offer Maverick Vinales a slot… the only non-Ducati rider to win on Sunday.
But it’s too late.
I’m happy to have put Pedro Acosta fourth. He disappointed with the number of crashes, but never stopped treating the fast guys as his natural companions. But was he really better than fifth-placed race-winner Bastianini? Or should Bastianini’s poor qualifying form have dropped him lower than the next guy? That’s Fabio Quartararo, whose efforts on the sub-prime Yamaha were never less than exhausting to watch. Give him a decent motorbike, please.
Underdogs who exceed their bikes’ abilities always impress. Step forward into seventh, Johann Zarco. He easily outscored the other three riders of the dire Honda, and even made the top 10 twice. Deserved much better than 17th overall. Hope Honda paid him well.
Sadly, no room for Binder or Jack Miller, in spite of the latter’s never-say-die battles with such severe chatter that most of his fillings must have fallen out. Because we have to have a look at the lesser classes.
So – eight, Moto2 champion Ai Ogura, who was a living example of a cool head in a maniacal class; nine, Moto3 genius and new record holder of the most wins in a season in any class (14).
And 10th for Aron Canet, who won more Moto2 races than anybody and shows true commitment to whatever he does, whether it is racing motorcycles or drenching his body in top-to-toe tattoos.
Hope the rest will forgive me.
