Michael Scott | December 5, 2024
Cycle News In The Paddock
COLUMN
Ten for the Ages
It is that time of year again and for me, as editor of the Motocourse annual, it is time to select my top 10 of the year.
Oh, the arrogance of it. Just who do I think I am?
We have some 100 riders in all three MotoGP classes, all—well, living the dream, of course. But it’s a dream with some jagged edges, that means they’re 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 on every turn.
Putting their egos on the line, in public, week after week, 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.
Marc Marquez easily makes the author’s annual MotoGP top-10 list for 2024.
And some of them are doing it not for minimal wages but actually negative wages—those Moto2 and Moto3 hopefuls whose only way in is to pay for an often sub-standard ride, hoping someone will notice how good they are, despite being mired somewhere south of the points.
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, do I. I only hope the ones who get unfairly left out won’t mind too much.
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 though he didn’t actually win the championship.
Marc Marquez really did the business in 2024. Once the golden boy of racing, the man who succeeded (supplanted?) Valentino Rossi has been through injury hell since 2020—four surgical interventions on a won’t-heal broken arm, all while battling a Honda RC213V that had been seriously left behind by Ducati and the other Europeans. That kept hurling him over the high-side as he tried to make up for it.
Crash after crash should have been enough to convince a multi-millionaire on the cusp of turning 30 that maybe 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 best of the GP23 riders and the only one to seriously challenge the GP24s, spoke volumes. Then he started winning races.
I’m betting he’ll be number one next year, too, when he is on the latest Duke.
Second: Jorge Martin. He only won three Sunday races, but he was always spectacularly fast and did what he needed to do to be champion. Count the points, take the prize.
Which pushes Bagnaia to third. He got more silverware than anyone—11 Sunday wins. But made too many mistakes. Being best on the day sometimes isn’t good enough. You need to come second sometimes.
The top three are easy. Now it gets harder, more opinionated, and less confident. Revisiting my list, I’d now like to change my mind. Bring Binder back in. Drop Bastianini lower. Offer the absent Vinales a slot, the only non-Ducati rider to win on Sunday.
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 equals, and he learned many lessons well. But was he really better than fifth-placed Bastianini, who won races? Or should Bastianini’s poor qualifying have dropped him lower than fifth.
That would have elevated Fabio Quartararo from sixth to fifth. The former champion whose efforts on the sub-prime Yamaha were never less than exhausting to watch. Jeepers, give him a decent motorbike, please.
There’s always something impressive about underdogs who never give up and exceed their bikes’ abilities. Step forward into seventh Johann Zarco. His Honda was pretty dire, but he easily outscored the other three RC213V riders and even made it into the top 10 twice—in Indonesia and Thailand. Deserved much better than 17th in the championship. 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, eighth, Moto2 Champion Ai Ogura, who was a living example of cool head in a maniacal class; ninth, Moto3 genius and new record holder of the most wins in a season in any class with 14, David Alonso.
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.
And thanks to all for the entertainment.CN
Click here for all the latest MotoGP news.
