MotoGP Rider of the Year: 1st - Andrea Dovizioso

After another epic season of racing, MCN’s sports team of Michael Guy (Sports Editor), Simon Patterson (MotoGP Reporter) and Oli Rushby (Superbike Reporter) sat down to discuss who impressed them the most in each race series we cover to establish MCN’s top five riders in each category.

And with this year’s MotoGP championship closer than ever, it wasn’t an easy call to decide who deserved what spot in our top five riders of the year in the class. Here’s what we think –  but feel free to disagree with us in the comments!

1^st: Andrea Dovizioso

There’s surprises every year in a championship as exciting as the MotoGP world championship – but few people could have predicted the surprise of 2017, in the shape of a title challenge form Andrea Dovizioso that went right down to the final round of the season at Valencia.

An incredible performance from both the Italian and Ducati after nearly a decade since either of them showed such pace before in the past, he pushed Marc Marquez right to the final round, taking as many wins as the Spaniard and showing that he might not have had the same pace, he definitely had the skills to tactically dominate his rival.

Making the most of his intelligence to understand the Michelin tyre selection gamble every weekend, he combined that with outright stunning pace in the wet to make sure that he was stronger than he’s ever been in the premier class.

Yet while he might have started the 2017 season an absolute dark horse, he won’t have the same advantage in 2018. Going into the season off the back of this year, he’ll be looking to use the success of the past year to mount a title challenge once again.