In Pit Lane
MICHAEL SCOTT
The year that was...
Rookie of the Year
Being the obvious choice doesn’t make
Johann Zarco any less of a hero – an
instant star at Qatar, and by year’s end
a constant front-runner.
In Moto2, Brad Binder might have
taken the official rookie title ahead of
Pecco Bagnaia but for a lingering early
injury. Three straight podiums in the last
three races proved the point.
But these were just class rookies: in
Moto3 rank newcomer Dennis Foggia
only made three starts, scoring points
each time, top 10 in the last two. At
Valencia he challenged for the podium,
and finished less than a second away.
Rookie of the Year (Machines)
KTM. W hat a start for the MotoGP
beginners. Well, almost beginners. Just
shows what clever engineers working
with big budgets can achieve.
Clot of the Year
The Dorna guy who selected incredibly
stupid social media questions at the
press conferences (sample: “If your
rivals were pizza toppings, what f lavour
would they be?”). And the official Dorna
yearbook, which not only called the
Foreword the “Forward”, but misspelled
the name of its honoured author, the
Dorna CEO. Carmelo Ezpeleta became
Cermelo instead. Means something bad
in Catalan.
Disappointment of the Year
Maverick Viñales started out favourite
after dominating all the tests, won three
of the first five races, then slumped.
Fellow Spaniard Jorge Martín took the
whole season to turn a record nine pole
positions into a single win. Injury didn’t
help, and he made a brave return. Both
should have achieved better.Disappointment of the Year
(Machines)
Ever since Rossi and technical boffin
Jerry Burgess took over in 2004, Yamaha’s
M1 has been admired: the best-rounded
and best-balanced MotoGP bike. In
2017 the engineers must have read the
blueprints upside-down. Factory riders
Rossi and Viñales were regularly beaten
by Zarco’s 2016 M1.
Another lowlight was the departure of
Mahindra from Moto3.Mess-up of the Year
All but the last attempt to stop Moto3
riders cruising for a slipstream in
qualifying. Escalating fines didn’t
help, nor did threats of escalating
punishments, ranging right up to
disqualification. Only at year’s end,
when the first back-of-the-grid start
was slapped on, did riders start to
take notice.Rider of the Year
Fans might w ish it to be Valentino
Rossi, who still towers above the rest in
popularity. But Marc Márquez towers
above in matters of talent, bravery, and
spectacular saves. A genuine giant of
the sport.Victim of the Year
Spare a tear for Danilo Petrucci, in spiteof having by far his best ever season.
The swarthy and jovial Pramac Ducati
rider took four podiums, but on two of
those he was denied a first win by cruel
misfortune, and was actually robbed by
Márquez at Misano.Surprise of the Year
Dovi’s and Ducati’s championship
challenge. The rider has seemed fast but
under-achieving for some years; the bike
has been slowly struggling back from
the doldrums of the Rossi disaster of
2011/12. It took until Round 6 at Mugello,
a change of front tyre and a new chassis,
and the pair were transformed. Six wins
equalled Márquez’s tally.Crasher of the Year
Most spectacularly, Marc Márquez,
with 27 tumbles. But the big number
was set by hapless Aprilia MotoGP
rookie Sam Lowes, with 31. Some, to be
fair, triggered by mechanical failure.
Álvaro Bautista had 26; Moto2 rookie
Jorge Navarro an impressive 30; while
Scotsman John McPhee (20) was the
crasher of Moto3.Save of the Year
Early on it looked like Loris ‘Too Tall’
Baz had taken the coveted title when he
slipped right off at Austin in practice,
only to land up back on his wheels. But
the master of the art remains Márquez,
who had five or six such moments that
would have been crashes for anybody
else at all sorts of speeds, most crucially
mid-race when going for the title at the
Va lencia GP.